Justice always wins
by ItReignsJustice-619
Summary: After many years of ups and downs, of love and heartache, babies and marriage, what does the future hold for Roman & Karolina, Dean & Shannon and Seth & Maxine? Have they finally come full circle? – Sequel to "Please protect me from injustice", "The eye of justice is always watching", "Will justice prevail!", "Justice has been served" and "The sweet taste of justice".
1. How things have changed…

**Justice always wins**

**Title: Justice always wins**

By: Tina619

Rating: NC-17, sexual content, adult themes, language,

Characters: Roman Reigns x OC, Dean Ambrose x OC, Seth Rollins x OC, and many other WWE superstars

**Summary: After many years of ups and downs, of love and heartache, babies and marriage, what does the future hold for Roman & Karolina, Dean & Shannon and Seth & Maxine? Have they finally come full circle? – Sequel to "Please protect me from injustice", "The eye of justice is always watching", "Will justice prevail?!", "Justice has been served" and "The sweet taste of justice".**

Disclaimer: I do not know or own any of the people in this story who are not born of my imagination. The characters of the WWE superstars are based off of their TV personas. I actually use their gimmick names and not their real-life names as this seems to be easier for everyone to read.

**...**

Here I am with the first chapter for the sequel to:

"**Please protect me from injustice**" ( s/9046424/1/Please-protect-me-from-injustice),

"**The eye of justice is always watching**" ( s/9483245/1/The-eye-of-justice-is-always-watching)

"**Will justice prevail?!**" ( s/9572393/1/Will-justice-prevail)

"**Justice has been served**" ( s/9856895/1/Justice-has-been-served) and "**The sweet taste of justice**" ( s/10139709/1/The-sweet-taste-of-justice)

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I love writing it. I can't believe I'm already writing the 6th story to that series…the final one. It's bittersweet, isn't it?

Thanks so much for the support you've given me for the first five instalments of the series. I hope you stick with me through this one as well ;-) You know I always give you my best :)

**…**

Chapter 1: How things have changed…

It was yet another sleepless night for Seth and Maxine, both their babies as always keeping them up every two hours when their cries once again announced that they were hungry. It should have been a routine for them by now, but exhaustion was finally creeping in and they had no more fight and strength left in them.

"Come on, sweetheart. Be a good girl and open your mouth for daddy," Seth whispered soothingly, holding the bottle against his daughter's lips and urging her to part them so that she could start drinking.

A lot had happened during the last couple of months. Ever since finding out that Maxine was pregnant with twins, Seth didn't waste any time and more or less surprised her by telling her that she would be marrying him. It wasn't a proposal, not a question. It was a request. Plain and simple.

And so they got married about six weeks ago at the beach of Pensacola, Florida, with only their closest friends and family in attendance, keeping it rather small. It was a beautiful ceremony. A ceremony that was interrupted by Maxine whose water broke just a few hours after they had declared their vows to one another. Everybody was in total shock when the doctor informed them that they would have to do an emergency C-section. But there was no other possibility as one of the babies' hearts was beating too slowly, not strong enough to survive a normal birth. But in the end they both made it, making the family complete. Finally.

Joan and Hayley Rollins were born just a few minutes before midnight of their parents' wedding day, both girls healthy and the most beautiful things Seth had ever seen in his entire life. He couldn't really describe what he felt when he saw them for the very first time. Both his daughters were premature infants, their tiny little bodies making him feel uneasy and nervous at first, but when he heard them cry for the first time, he knew that his girls were strong. Just like their mommy was.

"I don't really think Hayley is hungry at all. Joan probably woke her up with her crying," Maxine mumbled, yawning tiredly while one of her daughters was drinking her bottle of milk.

She had decided not to breastfeed them, knowing that it would be impossible to satisfy both her girls at the same time. According to Karolina and Shannon, she was missing out on a very intimate and bonding experience with her babies but she had already made her decision. There was no turning back now.

"Sometimes I think it would be better if we put them in two different rooms," he said quietly, rubbing his eyes before once again trying to get Hayley to drink.

It was not surprising that Seth, Roman and Dean immediately went house-hunting the day they learned that Seth was becoming a father. The apartment they had been living in was way too small for a couple that was expecting twins. Needless to say that the house he bought was only a three-minute walking distance to both Roman's and Dean's house. They just couldn't live without each other anymore.

"You can't separate them, Seth. They belong together," she scoffed, rolling her eyes at him before concentrating on Joan who had almost emptied her bottle.

Day in and day out, Seth and Maxine kept fighting. The tiniest little things upset them and they couldn't help but to let it out at each other. The worst thing they could do, they knew it but they couldn't even control it. As much as they wanted to.

"I'm going to the gym with Karo tomorrow," he stated out of nowhere, not realizing that this was the stupidest thing he could say in this very moment.

"Great, just great. You go out and have fun with your girl while I take care of your children," she huffed, trying her hardest not to start crying out of anger. Her hormones were still getting the best of her sometimes.

"She's not my girl, Maxi. I think we've talked this through ages ago," he said through gritted teeth, trying not to lose his temper with their babies in their arms.

"Which doesn't change the fact that you're rolling around in a fucking ring with her," she replied angrily, picking up Joan after she had completely finished her bottle.

"Maxine, we're just practising moves, ok? It's wrestling, not sex," he insisted, eventually losing his patience with his wife and her constant jealous behaviour.

"And why can't Roman train with her?" she asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Because Roman isn't a highflyer. You know Karo's wrestling style. She's a lot like me," he defended himself and his best friend, not understanding why Maxine was making such a big deal out of it. "Look, I understand what this is all about. You're insecure because you just had two babies. I know all about this 'I just gave birth and I look sooo horrible' crap. Karo and Shannon were like that as well. Just cut it, ok? It's not true. I love you, Maxine. Only you. There is no need to be jealous or self-conscious."

When Hayley simply wouldn't start drinking, he put the still full bottle on the ground, got up and laid down his little princess into her crib, a smile on his face when she was already sound asleep again a few seconds later.

"I can take care of her if y..." he started but she didn't even give him the chance to finish his sentence as she immediately cut him off.

"I've got this," she barked, softly running a hand up and down her daughter's back, waiting for her to burp.

"Fine...whatever. I'm sick of this shit. I'm going to bed," he huffed, running a shaky hand through his long, messy hair before eventually leaving the room, leaving her behind with his two little girls.

He hated fighting with her. He really did. But their nerves were on edge ever since the babies were born. It was exhausting being parents of twins, they knew it would be, but they never would have thought it would be _that_ difficult.

**...**

"Ahhh, let go, Sethie," Karo yelled giggling, trying to get out of Seth's grip but he simply wouldn't let go of her.

She was about to do a hurricanrana from the top turnbuckle, but Seth held onto her legs tightly which were wrapped around his neck.

"Fight me...come on, babe. Show me how strong you are," he yelled back, laughing when a few funny noises escaped her lips.

"I can't fight any longer. All of my blood is in my head now," she croaked, still hanging upside down.

He all of a sudden and without a warning let go of her, making her fall flat onto her stomach.

"Ouch, that hurt," she mumbled, acting like she was in a lot of pain and dropping her head to the mat as if she was dead.

"Oh, come on, don't be such a wimp," he said teasingly, slapping her leggings-covered ass, laughing when she yelped.

"I'm not a wimp. I just had a tough match on RAW last Monday. Could at least try to feel a little sorry for me?" she whined, raising her head slightly to look at him with pouty lips.

Karo returned back to the WWE about six months ago, working a few matches on Main Event or Smackdown, sometimes even on RAW. But she was still a full-time mommy, having Leni with her and Roman on the road which sometimes was very difficult. Too difficult at times.

Shannon had decided to stay home with Dylan when Dean joined his friends on tour, giving her enough time to finally finish her children's book which soon would be released. She was beyond excited. Finally the time had come.

"Did you and Roman fight a lot when Leni was born?" he asked out of nowhere, the sincerity in his eyes surprising her.

"Uhm...we had a few misunderstandings but nothing major. Why?" she asked curiously, getting into a sitting position when Seth sat down on the mat opposite of her.

"Well...me and Maxine...we keep fighting and fighting. Over trivial stuff. I know she's exhausted, I am too, but I just wish we could at least be civil around each other without one of us getting upset," he mumbled, running a hand over his face, sighing heavily. "I sometimes even wish I was back on the road with you guys."

"Seth, don't say that. She needs you, and so do Joan and Hayley. You guys are having a tough time at the moment, but I'm sure that once you get used to having two babies around, things will brighten up again," she replied, taking his hand into hers and looking at him concerned.

"You think so?" he asked disbelievingly, the look in his eyes reflecting unsureness and even a little fear.

"I know so," she said, giving him a reassuring smile. "Don't give up. You two love each other. Maybe you can have some sexy time with her again. That's probably what you both need right now. What do you think?"

When she wiggled with her eyebrows, he couldn't help but crack up laughing. But deep down he knew that maybe she was right. Ever since Joan and Hayley were part of their lives, they hadn't been able to find some alone time again. It was about the babies 24/7. Seth would lie if he said he didn't missing being with her intimately. And he could only hope she felt like this as well. He wanted his old Maxine back.

**...**

"But Leni wants chocolate," the little girl grumbled, stomping her foot on the ground to prove her point.

"And daddy wants Leni to know that she won't get any chocolate if she doesn't clean up her mess in the living room. Your toys are all over the place," Roman replied calmly, trying his best not to laugh out loud at the frown on his daughter's face, a frown that was clearly his.

"Mooooommmyyyy," she suddenly yelled, hoping that at least her mother would give in if for once her father didn't.

"What is it, sweetie?" she panted after running down the stairs hastily, worried that something was wrong when her little girl yelled like that.

"Leni wants chocolate," she said as a matter of fact, smiling at her mom sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

"Well, what did daddy say?" Karolina asked no one in particular, looking over at Roman who had a smirk on his face. She exactly knew what that meant.

"Ugh," Leni just scoffed when she realized that her parents stuck together, turning around annoyed, acting like a prima donna.

"She's so much like you," Roman said when his daughter left the kitchen to go into the living room, a smile on his face when his wife raised an eyebrow at him. "She would sell her own grandmother to get some chocolate."

"It's weird though that she asked me when it's normally you who always gives in if she wants something," she replied, the smile immediately leaving his face.

"Hey, that's not true. I just t...," he started but Karo cut him off mid-sentence.

"Oh yes, she still has you wrapped around her little finger. She only has to say 'Daddy' and smile at you with that heart-melting smile and you're putty in her hands," she teased, giggling when he started tickling her sides.

Leni was the perfect combination of Karo and Roman. Her looks more resembled Roman whereas her character was more like Karo's. Her dark hair was curly and already reached her shoulders, her eyes bright blue just like her mother's. Her skin was slightly tanned, giving away that her daddy was of Samoan heritage. She was a beautiful little girl of two and a half years and Roman already had to fight off the boys when they went to the playground. He didn't even want to think about the time she would go to school.

"Well, I wish YOU were putty in my hands right now, babygirl," he said seductively, nibbling on her earlobe and letting out a soft moan.

"Speaking of...I...well...I think we need to talk about something," she suddenly said, his arousal immediately gone when he noticed the seriousness in her voice.

"Uhm...do we?" he mumbled, quickly letting go of her so that he could face her properly.

"Yes, it's long overdue, to be honest," she said, sighing heavily when she hopped onto the kitchen counter, grabbing his shirt with both of her hands and pulling him towards her so that he could stand in between her legs.

Roman just looked at her expectantly, not sure if he liked the expression on her face. It was a mixture between confusion, sadness and fear.

"What is it, Karolina?" he asked, the way he said her full name signalling her that his impatience got the best of him already.

"Roman, it's just that...I don't know...but...I just can't keep going like this," she stuttered, tracing the lines of his tattoo with her fingers to distract herself and avoid his gaze.

"What do you mean with that? What are you even talking about?" he asked terrified, all of a sudden immensely afraid of losing her, of not being able to make her happy anymore.

"Wrestling each and every night, being on the road constantly, being a mother and a wife...I just can't do this no more. Not all of this at the same time at least," she said truthfully, looking up at him to stare into his beautiful grey eyes that always captivated her.

"Karo, I really don't know what to think of this. What exactly do you want to tell me by that?" he asked puzzled, his hands now cupping her face, holding her in place.

"Well...I think...I think I want to quit wrestling. I need to," she confessed, her eyes never leaving his, watching his reaction intently.

"You wanna give up wrestling? But you just came back..." he said dumbfounded, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Listen, you know I love wrestling. I really do. But I love my family more. I want my daughter to grow up in a steady environment. Travelling with her from one city to another each and every day isn't part of that. I want to be a mother, Roman. Not a woman that picks her child up in the evenings to spend an hour with her before bedtime," she admitted, hoping he would understand where she was going with this.

"So you wanna leave me behind on the road?" he asked a little hurt and disappointed.

"Of course not. But this is the price we have to pay if we want this to work. If Shannon and Dean can do it, then we can do it as well. You spend your days off with us and we come to visit you as much as we can," she tried to reason, smiling at him weakly. "Besides..."

"Besides what?" he wondered, kissing her forehead softly before looking down at her again.

"Well...I still remember you telling me you wanted to try for another baby. And this thought just wouldn't leave my mind anymore. And until now we haven't really pursued this, now have we?" she asked, letting her hands roam over his well-toned chest.

"Another baby?" he asked cheerfully, his eyes full of joy.

"Leni will be three in a few months and I think I want her to have another brother or sister. I'm ready again," she replied, a huge smile spreading across her face.

"Could Joan and Hayley be responsible for this? Just a tiny bit?" he chuckled, knowing that mentioning their goddaughters would always bring a smile to her face.

Seth and Maxine had asked them both, as well as Shannon and Dean, to be the godparents of their two little girls, wanting them all to be a part of their family like they were part of theirs.

"Maybe," she replied curtly, giggling when he shook his head smiling.

"Well, how about we start trying right now?" he asked in his deep and sexy voice, bending down slightly to place his lips onto hers, immediately asking her for entrance which she gladly gave him after parting her lips.

"Uuuhhh...mommy, daddy, stop. Leni not like that," the little girl said with her still unique and limited knowledge of English, covering her eyes with her hands.

Both Karo and Roman quickly let go of each other, chuckling when their daughter had her eyes still hidden behind her hands.

"You can open your eyes again, princess. Mommy and daddy are not kissing anymore," Karo said, jumping off of the kitchen counter to make her way over to Leni whose hair was messy and wild.

"What did you do to your hair, sweetie?" she asked while trying to tame her daughter's curly hair.

"Cleaned the mess. Now Leni gets chocolate," she said proudly, looking at Roman expectantly, her eyes wide open.

When her daddy nodded his head smiling, she jumped up and down in joy, clapping her hands excitedly.

"She's definitely your daughter, there's no denying," he said teasingly, laughing when she gave him a nasty look.

Oh, how he loved his two girls.

**...**

"Oh fuck yes," Shannon moaned, raising her hips to meet Dean's movements, his tongue licking up and down her slick folds, once in a while softly snapping her clit in between his teeth, sucking and licking it. "Don't fucking stop."

Her left hand rested on the back of his head which was hidden underneath a blanket, guiding him and showing him at what pace she wanted him to go, while the other one massaged her breasts which were still covered by her dark blue nightgown.

"Oh, you like that, don't you sweet cheeks?" he mumbled in between licks, her throbbing clit giving away that she was very close. "You love when I fuck you with my tongue."

Shannon was about to scream his name out loud when all of a sudden there was a knock on the door, stopping them both dead in their tracks.

"Fuck," Shannon hissed when slowly the door was being opened, her little boy standing in the doorway with his Dean Ambrose action figure underneath his arm, his brownish hair messy just like his dad's.

"Mommy, daddy, I can't sleep," he said sadly, the look on his face one of tiredness. "Dylan had nightmare."

When Dylan realized that his dad was lying under the blanket awkwardly, he looked at his mother curiously. "Mommy, what daddy do there?"

Shannon looked at her son dumbfounded, panicking when she realized that for the first time ever their son caught them while having sex when normally they locked their door.

"Hey son," Dean said after resurfacing again, a fake smile on his face. "Mommy had a...uh... mosquito bite on her leg and I checked if she's okay."

Shannon had to try her hardest not to burst out laughing, totally overwhelmed by her feelings when her son nodded his head lazily while he made his way over to his parents' bed sleepily, jumping onto it to sit next to his mom.

"But daddy...you...drooled," Dylan said, touching his own lips to show his dad what he meant by that. "That okay. I do this always."

Dean wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, slightly blushing when he realized what his son had just discovered. He moved back to his side of the bed and wrapped the blanket around his waist tightly, not wanting his son to see the boner that was in his boxer briefs.

"Can Dylan stay with mommy and daddy now?" the little boy asked hopefully, smiling happily when Shannon nodded her head yes.

"Just for tonight," she whispered to Dean who rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Fine, whatever. I just need to...go to the bathroom real quick," he said quietly, quickly jumping out of the bed to run into the bathroom without his son seeing things he shouldn't be seeing just yet.

He hated sharing his Shannon with anybody, even with his own son. That would never change.

**...**

"Karo, girl, what's up?" Shannon asked after picking up her phone after the second ring, always happy to see her best friend calling her, even though they almost saw each other on a daily basis.

"Hey babe...how's it? Listen, I wanted to ask you something real quick," the blonde-haired girl answered, making her way back into the house after watching Roman flounder about in the water with their daughter in the pool of their garden.

"Spit it out, chica," her friend replied, sitting down on the couch in the living room of their house, enjoying the quietness while Dean and Dylan were out grocery shopping.

"So, do you have any plans for Saturday yet?" Karo asked, hoping that Shannon was still available or things would have to wait for a little while again. A long while.

"Uhm...no...not yet," she said, trying to think if there was something she needed to do over the weekend but if she remembered correctly, there was nothing important.

"Well, you do now. You and me, girls' night OUT," she said, emphasizing the word 'out' as they normally would spend their girls' nights _in_.

"What about Maxine?" she asked immediately, surprised that Karo didn't even mention her when it was her who always tried to involve her somehow.

"They have her parents over on Saturday and Sunday. They haven't seen the babies yet. It's just the two of us this time," Karo said, hoping her friend would agree to go out partying with her. "Come on Shan. It's your last chance for the next couple of months or even years. Take it."

"Uhh...and why is that?" she asked confused, not sure if her assumptions were correct or if she was just imaging things.

"Long story short: Roman and I want to try for another baby. I thought getting shitfaced for the last time would be a good start for me to relax for all the sex that's coming soon," she giggled, laughing about her own stupid reasoning.

"Another baby? Gosh, Karo, don't you think we have enough babies around?" she dared to ask, shaking her head in disbelief, still a small smile on her face at the same time.

"Well, then tell Dean to finally grow the fuck up and there is one baby less," she chuckled with Shannon immediately joining her.

Deep down she had always known that Leni wasn't the last baby for Roman and Karolina. Roman was used to having a huge family, and although Karo sure as hell wouldn't pop out dozens of babies, she knew that she would at least want to have another one. Besides Joshua who was watching them from up there in heaven.

"Good one," she said, watching the clock on the wall which also stated the date and day. "Saturday, 8pm, my place. Be on time."

"You know I will be, I'm German," her friend replied, making them both chuckle once again.

This was going to be one hell of a night. That was for sure.


	2. Dirty thoughts,cravings&a lot of trouble

**There definitely wasn't enough Shield action on RAW last night. I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt like this lol**

**Thanks a lot for the amazing reviews I've received for the first chapter. Happy to see that you stick with me! :)**

**Now enjoy & review!**

Chapter 2: Dirty thoughts, cravings and a lot of trouble

It was 8pm on Saturday night when Karolina knocked on Shannon's door, bang on time. Roman and Leni were accompanying her, spending the night at Dean's house together with Dylan so that neither of them had to stay home alone.

"Yihaaaa, look at you, sexy lady," Shannon shrieked after opening the door, letting the little family enter their home. "You look hot as fuck."

"If it were up to me, she most definitely would not leave the house like this," Roman grumbled, carrying a sleeping Leni over his shoulder.

"And why is that?" Shannon asked curiously, eyeballing her friend from head to toe, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Damn Karo, you look damn fuckable tonight," Dean blurted out bluntly, blowing a whistle before wrapping his arms around her waist, letting his hands slide down to her ass which he squeezed softly.

"THAT is why," Roman replied annoyed, pointing at Dean who was joking around with his wife.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you to shove the jealousy up your ass. Shannon and me are going out to have a few drinks, not to get laid," Karo huffed, rolling her eyes at her husband after Dean finally let go of her.

"I still think that this dress is way too revealing," he stated, looking from his wife over to Shannon who in his opinion wasn't dressed as 'slutty' as he liked to call it.

Karo had decided to wear a short black, skin-tight dress that emphasized not only her broad hips but also her enormous bust size, even showing off a lot of cleavage which, in his opinion, only belonged to his eyes. Shannon on the other hand went for a simple black skirt that ended mid-thigh, completed by some black over-knee boots as well as a red halter neck top that gave away just as much cleavage but Roman didn't even want to acknowledge that.

"What is wrong with you, man? Let the ladies show off their assets. These boys out there will go home hungry while we get to eat...literally," Dean said laughing, immediately stopping when Roman frowned at him. "Come on, big man. I never thought I would be the one to ever say this but you really need to trust your woman."

It was that very moment when Roman realized just how stupid his behaviour was. It was Dean Ambrose who had to tell him something about trust and that was definitely a statement.

"Do you have any idea how many fangirls masturbated to your work-out video a few weeks ago? Am I jealous? No, I'm not," Karo countered, taking Leni away from her husband to kiss her goodbye, not caring if she was sleeping or not.

"Oh yes you are. You even completely freaked out when I talked to Eva Marie in the arena last week," Roman smirked evilly, knowing that he would get under her skin by mentioning that.

"Yeah, because it's obvious that bitch wants your dick. That's not even comparable," she defended herself, sighing when her daughter started stirring awake.

"Okay guys, take a deep breath, alright? No need to fight about this now. Karo and I are going to leave now. We'll text you as much as we can, and you both know you're always on our minds," Shannon said sweetly, taking one arm of Roman and Karo each and pushing them together so that they had no chance but to embrace each other, Leni right in the middle.

"I'm sorry, babygirl. I'm just worried is all. The world is a bad place," he whispered into her ear, horror stories of young girls being raped after a night out of partying on a daily basis not leaving his mind. "Be careful, ok? And call me if you need anything."

"Don't worry about me, baby. We'll be fine. I have Shannon with me. It wouldn't be the first time she would kick a guy's ass for me," she giggled, placing a sweet kiss onto Roman's lips before handing Leni back over to him. "I love you, gorgeous."

"I love you too, sexy," he replied with a chuckle, kissing her forehead softly before eventually letting go of her.

When they turned around they could see how Dean slapped Shannon's ass hard, checking it out shamelessly before exchanging a few heated kisses with his girlfriend while telling her he loved her and that he would bring a gun if somebody just looked at her the wrong way.

Dean was unique, that was for sure. What a confession of love.

**...**

It was three hours and many drinks later that Shannon and Karo left the dance floor after an exhausting dancing session, even having to fight off a few guys that out of nowhere rubbed their crotches against their asses from behind, something they definitely wouldn't tell their men.

"Gosh, it feels so good to be that carefree again," Karo said, sitting down next to Shannon in a booth, sipping on her cocktail.

"You can say that again. I'm not a mommy right now, just a young woman having a little fun," Shannon said, clinking glasses with her best friend, both of them giggling when they spilled a little of the alcoholic beverage.

There was a comfortable silence between them, as much silence as there could be in a club crowded by hundreds of people, the loud music invading their ears.

The alcohol they had already consumed made them more than just a little tipsy. When Karo said she wanted to get shitfaced, she definitely wasn't lying.

"Can I be honest with you?" she asked, slightly slurring, looking at Shannon who was all smiles.

"Sure thing. You're my sister from another mister. You can tell me anything," she replied, making funny faces which had Karo burst out laughing.

"Damn, can you for once be serious?" she asked, laughing even more when they both shook their heads at the same time. "Well, I've been thinking..."

"Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good. Your blonde little head really shouldn't think too much. It might start to hurt," her friend teased, yelping when she got swatted on her arm. "Okay okay, I'm listening. Spill the beans."

Karo took a deep breath and thought for a few seconds before finally having the courage to speak, her decisions not made by her head but by the alcohol that was in her blood.

"Girl, I'm really curious about Dean," she said nonchalantly, rubbing her eyes cautiously so she wouldn't smear her make up.

"Uhm...curious?" Shannon asked dumbfounded, not being able to process this statement properly.

"Yep...curious. As in, I wanna know if he knows how to fuck a woman," Karo said bluntly, her eyes wide open when she realized that she had really said this.

Shannon looked at her with her mouth wide open in shock, at first not sure what to say. She didn't even know if Karo had really said that or if she was just imagining things. But then, after just a few more minutes, she definitely knew what she wanted to say.

"Damn babe, I was thinking the same exact thing about Roman," she babbled, raising her hand and offering it to her friend, both of them high-fiving each other while cracking up laughing.

"I think we need to swap for a night," Karo slurred, once again taking a huge gulp of her drink.

"We most definitely do. I want that Samoan monster in my bed...hrhr," Shannon swooned, imaging a naked Roman taking her from behind.

"And I finally want Dean to spank my ass," her friend added, both of them laughing even harder. "God Shan, we're fucking horrible."

"Oh yes we are. But hey, caring is sharing, huh? Or...wait a minute...you don't want my man... like...you know," she stuttered, looking at Karo expectantly.

"Ugh, keep him Shannon. I'm happy with my man. This is just about being thirsty for some sex with him, nothing else," she explained, now looking at Shannon intently. "And youuu?"

"I don't want to wait for Roman until after the divorce. Too much trouble getting a man away from his wifey," she said mockingly, chuckling so loud that she even made grunting noises. "God, I bet he's all gentle and sensual and sweet and..."

"Yes, he is. But he can be quite dominant as well. And rough. But most of the times, we really do the good old-fashioned lovemaking," Karo explained before quickly adding. "Buuuut, not to forget the karma sutra book we have...which we use from time to time."

"Karma sutra? Are you for real? Oh my god, that's just so fucking hot," Shannon said excitedly, emptying her cocktail with one large sip.

"It is. But it's also very challenging. I never knew I was that agile," she giggled, trying to change her sitting position as elegant as possible without showing off her panties. "What about Dean? I bet he's an animal."

"Apart from the fact that it took me ages to even make him cuddle with me after sex, yes, he's still very rough. It's not that often that we make love. It's rough fucking more or less. But that's fine with me. I need it the hard way," she said with a mischievous smirk on her face, her panties almost soaking wet just thinking about some wild sex.

"God, I want it the hard way as well...that's just...unf," Karo swooned, the heat rising into her cheeks.

But this wasn't even comparable to the red colour that would be on her face after the next question Shannon would be asking her.

"What about Seth though?" she wondered, looking at her German friend curiously, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Uh...what about him?" she asked in return, acting as innocent as she could but Shannon wasn't buying it.

"Come on, don't play games with me. You know exactly what I meant," she replied, nudging Karo's arm teasingly.

"I'm not sure I should even think about any sexual encounters with Seth Rollins," she simply said, now also finishing her cocktail, wishing the glass was still full.

"Oh please, don't be like that. You know I'd keep it to myself," Shannon begged, wanting to know more about Karo's fantasies. "I'm sure you were thinking about him in that way as well."

Karo took a deep breath, not sure if she could really trust Shannon with something like that. If it hadn't been for her, Roman would still not know about what happened between her and Seth. But that was a different story, one that belonged into the past.

"Shannon, you would have dirty fantasies about that man as well after seeing him naked. Trust me," Karo said with a chuckle.

"You've seen him naked?" she asked surprised, trying to imagine Seth without clothes but her mind was still clouded with a certain Samoan God.

"I had to help him take a bath when he was injured. And boy, that man is hung like a horse," she told her friend, both of them yelping in unison.

"I bet he's also very gentle," Shannon mused, grinning when she realized that they were really talking about having sex with their respective others, or their best friend for that matter.

"He is a very passionate kisser. That's all I can say," Karo said with a smile on her face, shaking her head in disbelief about the conversation they were just having. "Damn...we really must be fucking drunk. Haven't we already agreed to swap partners?"

"We most definitely did. And the boys don't even get asked," Shannon laughed, once again high-fiving her friend.

Now that was a night to remember.

**...**

Just an hour later, Roman and Dean were still up, watching ESPN while their children were sound asleep upstairs in Dylan's room. It was 4am already but neither man could sleep without knowing their ladies would make it back in one piece.

"She hasn't answered for the last 30 minutes. I'm really starting to get worried," Roman said, once again checking his cell phone only to find that there were no new messages or missed calls.

"Maybe they're on their way home," Dean simply said, finishing his probably eleventh beer for that night.

"How can you be so relaxed when your woman is out there practically wearing nothing?" the Samoan asked confused, wishing he sometimes could be as laid back as Dean was.

"Because I know she can kick ass if she wants to. Nothing's gonna happen, dude," he tried to calm down his buddy, but it seemed to be to no avail.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them, only the sounds of the TV filling the room. It was a silence Roman couldn't take too much longer, so he knew that he had to be the one to break it.

"Are you happy Dean?" he asked out of nowhere, surprising his friend with that simple but at the same time loaded question.

"What are you even talking about?" he asked while opening another bottle of beer, offering one to Roman.

"I mean...well...in general, with your life. Are you happy to be with Shannon? Are you happy to be a father? I sometimes really can't tell if this is what you really want," he said, quickly glancing at his phone again. Still nothing.

Dean sighed heavily, not sure if he was able to have such a serious conversation at 4am in the morning while he was incredibly drunk and tired.

"Well, what can I say? I'm probably not as happy as you are with Karo and Leni. I mean, of course I'm happy, very happy. But my life is so much more different compared to yours. WE are different. You want a bunch of babies, you want to stay home with your family and settle down. Although I've kinda done so myself, there's always that itch that needs scratching, you know?" he tried to explain, sighing when Roman frowned at him.

"An itch that needs scratching?" he asked dumbfounded, not liking it one bit when Dean spoke in that Jon Moxley manner.

"Uh...how do I explain?" he asked more to himself than Roman, running a shaky hand through his short messy hair. "It's just that sometimes I have the feeling I would want to be single again. I actually wasn't born to be in a long-term relationship, have children and buy a house...all that stuff. I sometimes miss the life of an independent, young man who simply fucks around, getting laid each and every night with a different girl in my arms. I wanna go out and party and not think about the consequences. It's just that I sometimes feel like this is being taken away from me, you know? No more flirting, no more fun nights out...no nothing. I feel like a caged animal. But then again I t..."

Dean immediately stopped his little speech when someone cleared their throat. Someone who clearly wasn't Roman.

His eyes immediately met Shannon's, fury and anger reflecting in them, making him feel really uneasy and uncomfortable.

"Uhm babe, how long have you been standing there?" he asked nervously, the look on not only his girlfriend's but also Karo's face sign enough to let him know that they heard each and every single word he had said.

"Long enough, I'm afraid. Way too long probably," she hissed, throwing her purse away aimlessly. "You wanna be single again? You wanna bang some dirty, cheap girls? Really? You know what? You can have it. You can just fucking leave now but don't expect me to ever let you come back again."

"Whoa whoa whoa, let's just all calm down now and..." Roman tried to save what there was left to save but was cut off mid-sentence by Shannon.

"Calm down? Calm the fuck down? My so-called boyfriend wants his old life back. He's bored with me, wants to be the manwhore that he used to be before I came around. And you know what? I won't even stop him," she yelled, about to make her way upstairs when Dean was quick enough to grab her upper arm. "Don't you fucking touch me, asshole."

"First of all, you stop yelling around now. Our kids are sleeping," he said through gritted teeth, wanting to go on when she stopped him.

"Our kids? Do you mean Leni and MY son?" she scoffed, emphasizing the word 'my' which made Dean see red.

"Calm your tits, woman. I'm not in the mood to fight with you at this time of the day when we're both drunk," he carried on, even forgetting that Roman and Karo were both watching them.

"Oh yes, you're absolutely right, Mr Ambrose," she said mockingly, her evil smirk immediately leaving her face when she added. "I'm just going upstairs, pack your stuff and then you can see where you're gonna stay. Maybe your buddy over there has a guestroom for you."

"You're not kicking me out of my own house," he grumbled, his grip on her arm becoming even tighter.

"Let go of me, Dean. You hurt me," she shrieked, wanting to kick him in between his legs but thankfully Roman separated them just in time.

"Stop it now, you two. God, you're acting like children," he sighed, pushing Dean back, the anger in his eyes even shocking him this time. "Maybe you should really spend the night at our place tonight."

"I'm not fucking going anywhere," he hissed, his eyes never leaving Shannon's. "She wouldn't even let me explain."

"What is there left to explain, huh? I think you've made yourself clear. I just wished you would have told me all of this earlier. Then we would have spared Dylan from all of this," she countered, the tears that she had been fighting all this time now escaping her eyes.

"What are you even talking about?" he now yelled, completely forgetting about the kids that were sleeping upstairs.

"Just go, Dean. Just fucking leave, ok?" she begged sobbing, turning around and making her way upstairs, not wanting to look at him anymore. She was too hurt to face him again.

**...**

It was late the next morning when Roman called Karolina on her cell phone. She had stayed the night at Shannon's place, not wanting to leave her and the kids alone in the state she was in.

"Good morning beautiful...or should I say good afternoon?" he chuckled when he saw that it was already after 1pm.

"Hey baby. How are things going?" she asked, yawning out loud as she hadn't gotten much sleep since the kids woke them up just 3 hours after they went to bed.

"Well, Dean is as pissed off as ever, trying to reach Shannon but apparently she doesn't pick up," he said quietly, sighing in annoyance.

"Oh, that's why the phone is ringing constantly," she giggled, glancing over at Dylan and Leni who were watching cartoons in the living room. "Shannon's under the shower right now. She's been crying all night."

"I can only imagine. If it helps you can tell her I ripped Dean a new one," he said with a chuckle, smiling when he heard the kids yell in the background. "What is my munchkin doing?"

"She's watching cartoons with Dylan, but right now she's actually pulling at his hair...hey...stop it, young lady," she yelled, covering the mouthpiece of her phone so that Roman wouldn't get a heart attack. "I don't care if he started. You don't pull his hair, you understand me?"

Roman laughed when he heard his daughter scream and yell, knowing that she had quite a hot temper, just like him.

"She's a devil sometimes," Karo sighed, getting out of earshot but still keeping the kids in sight. "Roman?"

"Yes, baby?" he asked, worried when he heard that she was almost whispering.

"Promise me that whenever you feel like this...like Dean does...that you tell me asap. I couldn't deal with you leaving me with Leni because you feel like there is something missing in your life," she said truthfully, afraid that she one day would end up just like Shannon who felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest.

"Babygirl, you don't have to worry about that. It's not gonna happen. You know I've always wanted this. You, the kids...the whole thing we're having right now. I sure as hell am not going to leave you just because I'm thirsty for other women or the single life," he tried to soothe her, but the last part of his sentence didn't really convince her.

"You're thirsty for other women?" she shrieked, almost too loud as the kids turned their heads.

"Only the ones in porn movies, I swear," he said laughing, trying to lighten the mood. "You're the only one for me, Karolina. Now go and get Shannon out of that shower before she drowns."

After saying their goodbyes, he quickly hung up the phone, wanting to go search Dean but as soon as he turned around, he was right in his face.

"Did you talk to her?" he asked, watching how Roman put his cell phone back into his jeans pocket.

"Who?" he asked, trying to act all innocent but he knew that Dean wasn't buying it.

"Shannon of course, you dumbass," he snapped, trying to calm down before he would totally freak out.

"I talked to Karo. Shannon was under the shower. Apparently she's been crying all night. Great job, you fucking idiot," Roman scoffed, trying to pass his friend but he stopped him.

"Call her again! Call Karo and let her give the phone to Shannon. Please Roman...that's the least you can do for me," he all but begged, hoping that his friend would support him but it seemed to be to no avail.

"Sorry Ambrose, but you have to do this on your own," the Samoan replied, shrugging his shoulders apologetically and leaving Dean all by himself.

The younger man pulled at his hair in anger, losing his patience and strength. He hated himself for saying the stupid things he had said the night before. He could never control his mouth when he was drunk and now he more than just regretted it.

He took out his own cell phone, sitting down on Roman's bed while opening his text messages. He was never good with words, always fucking things up, but maybe a few nice words would make her listen to him at least.

_*I know I've fucked up big time, sweet cheeks. I unfortunately always tend to do so. But I'm really sorry. I don't even know why I said all these things, it was really stupid. Please believe me when I say that I love you. You and Dylan are my life and I wouldn't change it for the world. Please just give me one chance to explain myself. I'm normally not one for begging but this time I do. Please Shannon, don't give up on us...I need you. Dean xx*_

He could only hope that this time his words had some kind of effect on her. He wished she would call him to tell him to come home, to talk things through.

But after endless hours, even after Karo and Leni had come back home, there was still no answer. And he was afraid that now he had lost her for good.

**...**

"Finally alone again," Seth sighed relieved while plopping down onto the couch next to Maxine who was watching the twins intently.

They were lying on a baby blanket on the floor in front of them, both of them staring into space, their eyelids becoming heavier with each minute passing by.

"Oh, were my parents such a bother to you?" she huffed, wanting to get up when Seth stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

"Really Maxine? Are we starting to fight again?" he asked irritated, looking at her expectantly, not understanding why she was always acting like a madwoman.

"No...of course not. We don't have to fight. We can just sit here in silence and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere," she said mockingly, once again trying to get up.

"Stop it now, ok? Just cut it. We're bringing the kids upstairs now and then we'll talk this through, ok?" he insisted, not even waiting for her to answer as he got up and picked up Joan who was about to fall asleep already.

In silence they both made their way upstairs, putting both babies into their respective cribs and starting their music box before quietly leaving their room.

Seth signalled Maxine to follow him back downstairs so that they could finally talk. He was sick of the constant fighting, the horrible tension and the coldness his wife was showing him. This had to end and it had to end now.

"Just tell me what is wrong with you, angel," he started when they sat down on the couch again, his body turned towards her so that he could face her properly.

"What is wrong with ME? Are you fucking serious?" she asked with a huff, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Yes, apparently something is bothering YOU but if you don't talk to me, there is only so much I can do," he replied, running a hand over his face tiredly.

Maxine remained silent, not sure what he expected her to tell him now. She simply was at the end of her rope, losing her strength by being a mommy of twins 24 hours, 7 days a week. Maybe this wasn't even about Seth, it was about her and her alone. Or wasn't it?

"Maxine, please...you know I'm always here to listen," he said quietly, brushing a strand of hair out of her face lovingly. "Don't shut me out, ok?"

She swallowed hard and tried her best not to break down crying in front of him. She had no idea why she always thought she needed to act so strong when deep down she felt so weak. She was afraid of showing weaknesses. She didn't want Seth to know or think that she couldn't do this all by herself. He wanted and needed a self-confident woman at his side and she was everything but that.

"I can't do this anymore," she suddenly blurted out, the tears she had been suppressing for weeks finally streaming down her cheeks. "I'm done... I'm on my last legs."

Seth was surprised by her sudden emotional outburst, feeling guilty for not having noticed that she was so exhausted. He never would have thought that she felt like this and it honestly shocked him.

"But baby, why haven't you told me?" he asked concerned, wrapping his arms around her tightly while she sobbed into his chest, her whole body shaking. "It's okay, let it all out."

He didn't want to put her under any pressure, letting her cry as long as she needed to. She was never one to show too much emotion but he honestly was glad she finally let him in. Even if it broke his heart to see her like that.

"Everything is about Joan and Hayley. I spent every second of my day tending to them, not getting a break as one of them is always awake. I love them, I really do. With all my heart. But I can't do this alone. I need help," she admitted, the tears not stopping to escape her eyes.

"But I'm here, angel. I try to support you as much as I...," he started but she quickly interrupted him, not letting him finish his sentence.

"I'm sorry to say this but you're not trying hard enough. Don't you see how often you leave me alone with them? Meeting with Karo and the boys in the gym, watching wrestling on the network or taking a nap? I can't do this, Seth. I can't just leave whenever I feel like it," she said truthfully, not surprised to see the shocked expression on his face.

He had never felt so horrible in his life, maybe when things with Karo and Roman escalated, or when Joshua died, but the very moment he realized that he left his wife hanging with HIS kids, he realized just what a sorry excuse of a father and husband he was.

"Maxi, I...I...god, I'm so sorry...I didn't even realize that...I..." he stuttered, not even sure what he wanted to say. A simple 'sorry' wouldn't fix this, he knew it.

"I've been so mad at you but you didn't even notice. You just acted as if I was bitchy once again when all I was trying to do was make you realize what was going on," she explained, wiping away the tears with the back of her hand. "I need you, Seth. Not just when you feel like it."

"I'm so incredibly sorry. Please...just...let me make this up to you. I'll change, I promise," he said pleadingly, hoping that she would give him another chance.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them which was killing him. He could tell that Maxine was thinking hard about his words, hoping that she would forgive him and work things through with him.

"I love you too much to let you go anyways. I just need some time now," she said while unwrapping herself from his hug, getting up and facing him once again. "I'm going out, taking a walk. I trust you'll be able to take care of our daughters."

And with that she left him sitting there, all by himself with a lot to think about.


	3. Hopeful and hopeless

**Sooo, after Smackdown could have been called Shield-down, I hope that we can continue just like that on RAW tonight :D**

**Thanks for your amazing reviews, all the support and the love you've given me for the first two chapter.**

**Here we go with the next one. Enjoy & review! :)**

Chapter 3: Hopeful and hopeless

"Are you sure you don't wanna talk to him before he leaves?" Roman asked Shannon while she was preparing lunch for Dylan in the kitchen.

It had already been two days since Shannon had kicked Dean out of his own house, not wanting to see him again after he said he was missing the single life. Not only that, but he was very descriptive about the things he explicitly missed about it. She was not only deeply hurt but beyond mad.

"I've never been surer about anything in my life," she huffed, not even looking up to see the worried expression on Roman's face. "You can take Dylan with you to let him say goodbye to his daddy though."

"Shan, this is ridiculous. You two love each other. You should at least talk about it. He's been feeling like a piece of shit ever since the fight and he wouldn't stop talking about you. He misses Dylan too. You can't keep going like this. You should s..." he explained but was soon interrupted by a small voice, so quiet that it was almost just a whisper.

"Uncle Ro, where is daddy?" the little boy asked sadly while pulling at his uncle's leg, looking up at him unsure.

Roman's heart broke in his chest when he realized how hurt the little boy must have been, having a strong relationship to his father who was possibly just as crazy as he was.

Dylan wasn't stupid. He knew that something wasn't right. Daddy was gone often, due to his work. But he knew that this time was different. Uncle Roman, Aunt Karo and Leni all were at home, which meant that they were not working. And his father wasn't either.

"Daddy is staying with Uncle Roman at the moment, little man. He needs to help me repair some things in my house but I promise you that soon he'll be back with you and mommy. How does that sound?" Roman came up with a story spontaneously, knowing that his reasoning didn't sound at all plausible but a child would buy it anyways.

"Yay. Dylan misses daddy," he replied, clapping his hands excitedly after Roman threw him in the air only to catch him again so that he wouldn't get hurt.

"Daddy misses you too. Shall we go and say goodbye to him before he leaves for work?" he asked the little boy, smiling at him when he nodded his head frantically, imitating the 'yes movement' with his short arms.

Roman looked over at Shannon only to see that she was once again fighting the tears. He knew she missed Dean. And Dean missed her. He was so pissed off at them for being so damn stubborn. They clearly had to talk things through. Not only for their sake but for the sake of their joint son who needed his parents to be back together.

"I've packed all of his stuff. I hope nothing's missing," she said quietly, sighing heavily before she followed Roman into the hallway. "Will you bring Dylan back before you leave?"

Roman swallowed hard, his godson holding tightly onto his neck, excited to see his daddy again. Even if it had only been about two days yet.

"Of course I will. We'll leave in 30 minutes. You know where to find us should you change your mind," he whispered while bending down slightly to hug her, kissing her cheek softly.

Without another word, Roman, Dylan and Dean's suitcase made their two-minute walk to the Reigns' house, both of them joking around and making plans to surprise his daddy.

But the plans were shot down as soon as Roman unlocked the front door, letting Dylan back onto his feet and chuckling when the boy ran as fast as he could, making his way into the living room where he expected his father to be.

"DADDY," he screamed out loud, almost falling when his mind was a lot faster than his feet, but Dean was quick enough to catch his son just in time, his heart beating fast in his chest when he saw the boy that was his spitting image.

"Dylan...god...I'm so glad to see you," he whispered into his son's ear, holding him close to his body and not wanting to let him go. "Daddy missed you so much."

He didn't even know how long he was holding onto him, only realizing that they were being watched by Roman, Karo and Leni after opening his eyes after endless minutes, the blurry vision giving away that he was doing one thing he sometimes didn't know he was even capable of. He was crying.

"Why daddy cries?" Dylan asked confused, his tiny little hands wiping away his daddy's tears before pecking his scruffy-bearded cheek.

"Just happy to see you. Adults sometimes cry when they are very happy. It's called tears of joy," Dean tried to explain, placing butterfly kisses all over his son's face.

"Mommy cries too. She happy too?" he asked his father, breaking Dean's heart even more now that he knew that Shannon was crying her eyes out at home while he was staying at Roman's place.

"I don't know, son. Maybe you can ask her why she's crying. I'm sure she'll explain to you," Dean said, actually not wanting to use his son to make things better between them again, but he was so desperate to win Shannon back that apparently there were no boundaries for him anymore.

"Dylan wants to play with Leni?" Leni all of a sudden asked, now pulling onto Dean's leg, batting her eyelashes at her godfather with a sweet smile on her face.

"Just a few more minutes before we have to go, ok? Don't make a mess, you two," Dean replied after letting Dylan down, both kids immediately running to Leni's toy box that was sitting next to the couch.

In silence Dean, Roman and Karo watched as the kids were playing with cars and dolls, for once getting along without any hair pulling or screaming – which had become normal for them.

"Would you watch them for a few minutes? I'm going to see Shannon," the short-haired man said, immediately raising his index finger when Roman wanted to say something, cutting him off before he could even say a word. "I don't care if she doesn't want to see me. I can't just leave like that. I need to talk to her."

And with that he simply turned around, leaving the living room and house as quickly as he could, not wanting any of them to stop him. He was determined. He needed to do this now.

As he didn't have a key with him, he had no other choice but to knock on the door, hoping that she would open it without questioning who it was as she was expecting Roman to bring back Dylan anyways.

"Oh, now that was quick. I thought t...what the fuck are you doing here?" she asked angrily, wanting to slam the door shut when she realized who it was but Dean was fast enough to put a foot in between.

"Let me in, Shannon. I'm not going to leave like this. You'll listen to me now, whether you like it or not," he insisted, opening the door fully with ease as he was much stronger than she was.

He followed her quickly when he realized that she wanted to run off, making her way up the stairs to lock herself into the bedroom but he thankfully was a lot faster.

"Listen to me now, goddammit. You can't keep running from this for the rest of your life. We have to talk things through," he said annoyed, taking a deep breath when she didn't even look at him, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

She turned away from him when he sat down next to her on the bed, not being able to be that close to him. He always smelled so good. She missed that. She missed HIM. But she couldn't give in so easily. Not after all that he had said the other night.

"Look, I know you're pissed off and you have every right to be," he started, knowing that she would listen to him although she acted as if he wasn't even there. "I'm the biggest asshole there is on this fucking planet and my big mouth always gets me in a lot of trouble. It's not that I say these things to hurt others. Not at all. And you should know that by now. What you've heard when you came back was the worst I could have ever said. I can't take any of that back, although I wish I could. You know I'm not good at apologizing but I really try to explain myself and I hope you'll keep that in mind."

He waited for her to say something, but when she remained silent, he decided to carry on: "Never in my life would I have thought that I would ever find a woman I felt I could settle down with. I've always believed that I would end up lonely, full of drugs and alcohol, living a miserable life with some crackwhore right by my side. I know that the minute I first saw you, that there was definitely something about you. And although I always tried to fight it, although we had so many ups and down, we somehow made it work. I wasn't supposed to be a boyfriend, never should have become a father. But this is my life now and it still scares me. I'm scared to fail. Being single is so much easier, so much more carefree. It's convenient to pick up some random girl and get rid of her the next day. I'll admit that. But I also know that this isn't me anymore. I've grown up, a little at least. I wasn't done talking when you stopped me mid-sentence two days ago. I wanted to tell Roman that I'm grateful that there is a woman that puts up with me. A woman I dearly love and appreciate, who I want to spend my life with. And a son that means the world to me. I wouldn't want to change that for the world. There are these days, days where we fight or where things are getting complicated, that I wish I was single again. It's selfish and incredibly stupid, but that is Dean Ambrose. And when you decided you wanted to be with me, you knew you would get involved with a psycho."

He could see her trembling body, knowing that she was crying when a sob escaped her lips. He so badly wanted to hug her, tell her that everything would be fine again but he knew that if he did indeed touch her, she would completely lose it.

"I'm an idiot, Shannon. But that idiot loves you, with every fibre of his body. I miss you. Both you and Dylan. And I would do everything in my power to win you back. Just give me a chance...just one...please," he begged, his heart heavy in his chest when she cried even harder.

There was a silence between them that lasted for several minutes. Minutes that felt like an eternity. The only sounds audible her sobs and crying, making the tension in the room even more tangible.

"Leave," she simply said, her voice almost a whisper. "Go away."

Dean was shocked to realize that she didn't even give him that one chance. She wouldn't talk to him, wouldn't let him make it up to her, no, she wanted him to leave. And that was the worst that could have happened to him.

And in that very moment, he knew that things were over between them. For good.

**...**

"You think it's a good idea to have Dean watch Leni tonight? He's still pretty devastated about Shannon sending him away," Karolina said unsure after entering their hotel room, just having finished the tapings for Smackdown so that they had the rest of the evening off.

"He definitely needs the distraction. Plus, I told him we need to make a baby now," he said nonchalantly, not noticing that his wife looked at him as if he had two heads.

"You told him we're going to make a baby?" she asked dumbfounded while slipping out of her boots, kicking them away. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. We can't have sex with her in the same room with us. And I certainly can't always keep my mouth shut when I'm sleeping with you while she's around. So he keeps her tonight while we're trying to make her a big sister," he explained, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"I can't believe he's in the room next door, knowing that we're gonna have sex now," she sighed, piece by piece taking off her ring gear which consisted of a pair of jeans hot pants and her own black signature WWE top with the "German girls do it better" imprint on the front. She didn't necessarily like the slogan but the WWE creative team thought it was funny and so they went for it.

"He caught us countless times while having sex that I'm sure it should be fine for him to just know it instead of watching like he normally does," Roman said with a chuckle, watching his wife intently while she was now stepping out of her panties, leaving her completely naked in front of him. "Somebody's in a hurry, it seems."

"Somebody actually needs to take a shower sounds better," she said while winking at him. "Join me?"

Roman didn't even have to be asked twice, quickly following his woman into the bathroom, letting his clothes fall onto the ground, leaving a trail behind him.

"You should really do that bikini photo shoot for the WWE magazine, babygirl," he said, looking her up and down shamelessly, blowing a whistle appreciatively. "You're a sex bomb."

"Roman, stop it. I told them no and I stick to that decision. I have stretch marks all over my stomach. Do you really think that's a sight men or even women would like to see?" she asked annoyed, starting the shower and moving slightly so that they could both stand under the water.

He was about to mention Photoshop when he decided to let the subject drop, knowing that they would end up having a huge fight. He never saw these stretch marks when he looked at her. She gave him two kids, carrying them below her heart for 9 months, and that's more than he could ask for. He didn't care about her flaws, because deep down she was flawless in his eyes.

"So, we're doing it the traditional way tonight?" he asked after a few minutes of silence, washing her back softly and massaging her shoulders which were all tensed up. "Or do you have any specific wants and needs?"

She chuckled when he asked her that, knowing that he was just teasing her but that was just one of so many reasons why she loved him so much.

"I think the traditional way is just fine, Mr Reigns," she giggled, enjoying his touch which relaxed her completely.

They took their time washing each other's body and hair, letting their hands roam all over the other one while at the same time exchanging some heated and passionate kisses, completely forgetting about the world around them and at first not even realizing that the water had already turned cold.

After they had both dried off with some fluffy towels, he took her hand into his and slowly led her out of the bathroom and to the bed, picking her up quickly and gently laying her down on the mattress with her back. He now stood over her, taking in her beauty and licking his lips in anticipation. He could not wait to feel her around his cock again. But for now he had other things in mind first.

He spread her legs slightly and started kissing her inner thighs, over and over again, his nose slightly touching her mound when he changed from one thigh to the other, making her take in a sharp breath.

He now started kissing her lips, feeling that she tried to push up her hips so that he would finally give in and start licking her. He lifted his arms and slowly moved them up, cupping her breasts with his hands and gently kneading them. The tips of his fingers teasing her already hardened nipples, making her moan out loud.

She was too distracted with his hands that she completely forgot about his mouth, yelping when he finally licked her clit with the tip of his tongue, sending sensations through her whole body. He started sucking on the little bundle of nerves, letting it go with a popping sound before furiously licking it again with his tongue. He looked deep into her eyes while he worked her with his mouth, letting her lift her hips to meet the movements of his tongue. The look she was giving him gave him goose bumps all over his body.

He started placing kisses around her clit, his facial hair teasing it, sending chills up and down her spine. Her heart was beating fast in her chest and she felt like her whole body was about to explode. She was dripping wet by now, her body more than ready to get its release.

But Roman wasn't done with her just yet. While sucking on her swollen nub again, he inserted one finger into her hole, adding another one just a few seconds afterwards. She arched her back, holding her breath and biting her lips which only encouraged him to add another finger, making her yelp.

The sweet torture lasted for a few more minutes, but as soon as he felt that she was about to reach her climax, he immediately stopped and let go of her, knowing from one of their books that the chance of her conceiving was a lot higher if they both had their orgasm at the same time.

He now gently placed her ankles on his shoulders before getting comfortable on his knees so that her ass was up in the air slightly. He teased her wet entrance with the tip of his throbbing length, making her whimper and push her hips up to meet him. She was desperate, he could see it by the look on her face. He didn't want to torture her anymore. He needed this just as much as she did.

Inch by inch he dove into her slick folds, stretching her and standing still for a few moments until she was adjusted to his size, both of them wanting to cherish this moment to the fullest. The moment of being united with her again. No matter how often they made love with each other, this moment was always very special to them.

He moved his hips in circles, each and every thrust becoming more powerful and intense with each second passing by. Both of her hands grabbed his biceps after a few more minutes, digging her nails into them when he had once again increased his pace. She was sure they both wouldn't last that much longer if they kept going like this.

"Are you cumming for me, baby? Tell me...do you want me to make you cum?" he groaned, beads of perspiration on his forehead, almost dropping down onto her.

He could feel that her walls started tightening around his cock, a sign for him that she was very close. But he needed to know if he was right. He wanted and needed to cum with her. He wanted them both to cum together, fulfilling their dream of once again creating a little human being.

"Yes baby...god yes...make me cum...please," she begged him desperately, her voice hoarse and almost a whisper.

And with that he sped up one last time, the sounds of their bodies slamming against each other enough to eventually send him over the edge. He roared out loud, pushing himself even deeper inside of her until he could feel the familiar pulsating around his throbbing length, his seed spurting deep inside of her and mixing her juices with his before finally collapsing on top of her.

He remained still for a few moments, both of them trying to catch their breaths and slowly coming down from their respective highs. He finally let go of her ankles, her legs falling down numbly next to his hips. She loved feeling him so close to her like this that she never wanted to let him go again but she knew she eventually would have to. Especially now with the goal they had in mind.

"Get off of me, baby. You know I need to hold my legs up," she whispered while kissing his shoulders, giggling when he groaned while being pushed off of her, collapsing beside her like a house of cards.

Last time it was Roman who held her legs up in the air, knowing that like that the sperm would reach her uterus a lot faster, but seeing as her husband was completely out of it, she did what she had read in a magazine just a few days ago.

She pushed a pillow underneath her ass, raising her legs cautiously before starting to make cycling movements with them, not wanting their mixed juices to drip out of her body or this would be senseless.

"What the fuck are you doing there?" he asked dumbfounded when he realized she was doing some kind of cardio work out, frowning at her.

"Giving your sperm some jump start. It's ovulation day and we need to get this done. I don't wanna drive myself insane by trying for endless months again," she explained, after a minute or two finally stopping so that she could hold her legs still for a few more moments

"But I like trying..." he said with a mischievous smile on his face.

"Don't we all?" she asked giggling, carefully moving her legs back down before snuggling closer to her husband again. "And we'll never stop. That I promise you."

**...**

Seth Rollins wouldn't be Seth Rollins if he wouldn't be true to his word. He promised Maxine to be a better husband and father and that was what he would do. No questions asked.

Not only would he change his children's diapers, prepare their bottles or play with them as much as he could, no, he would also cook dinner and take out the garbage without needing to be reminded to do so. Maxine was pleasantly surprised.

"Wow, I'm impressed. You're doing one hell of a job, Ninja Rollins," she said smiling, wrapping her arms around his neck lazily and pulling him close, placing a sweet kiss onto his lips.

"Hmm, thank you, angel. Don't you think I at least deserve some kind of reward?" he asked seductively, his hands now travelling down to rest on her ass, squeezing it gently.

"Well, you just put the kids to bed, you cleaned the kitchen and even took care of laundry. I think a reward is absolutely well-deserved," she said hoarsely, kissing his neck and even softly biting it, a moan escaping his lips. "But first I need to pee."

She giggled when he groaned, rolling his eyes as he watched her leave their bedroom, the erection in his pants almost painful. Ever since the twins were born, they hadn't had sex. There either hadn't been time for any intimate moments or they both had been too exhausted to even try anything. But Seth was hungry now. He wanted her and he wanted her badly.

He impatiently waited for her to finally come back, wondering what took her so long in the bathroom. He had already stripped off all of his clothes, slowly stroking himself while thinking of the things he would do to her in just a couple of minutes.

But when he looked at her after she re-entered their bedroom, he knew he definitely wasn't getting any. "What is it, baby?"

"It's that time of the month," she said almost apologetically, feeling horrible for him when she noticed just how aroused he must have been.

"But that's never stopped us, now has it?" he asked confused, both of them never having made such a big deal out of a little blood.

"But Seth...uh...this is not normal. I mean...well...it's the first time after giving birth and it's...a lot," she said, air quoting the 'a lot' with her fingers.

"Ugh...bloody hell...literally," he mumbled, watching her intently when she crawled onto the bed, kneeling in between his legs. "What are you doing, angel?"

She wouldn't answer him this time, no, she would let her actions speak. And as soon as her tongue licked the precum off of his hard cock, there were no more questions left to be answered.


	4. Happy and sad times combined

**What a match against Evolution yesterday! Our boys were on FIRE! Seth Rollins, we all know you read fanfiction...so, if you read this: YOU'RE THE MAN!**

**I stop talking now...I might annoy you lol Onto the next chapter.**

**Enjoy & review! :)**

**...**

Chapter 4: Happy and sad times combined

"Okay munchkin, arms up in the air," Dean said after picking Leni up so that she was standing in front of him on his hotel room bed, just having changed her diaper so that they could start their morning.

He pulled her pink, white-dotted summer dress over her head, tying the baby blue bow on the front lightly before taking a comb and brushing her dark, curly hair which already passed her shoulders. His bond to Leni had deepened and strengthened a lot over the last year and a half, both of them spending a lot more time together which helped them to build a relationship he wouldn't want to miss anymore. She was such a girly girl though, sometimes driving him nuts with her whiny behaviour, but he loved that little girl and he would never forget the day he held her when for the first time she didn't cry being in his arms.

"Uncle Dean sad?" Leni asked, sensing that her godfather wasn't as happy as he normally was, not pulling goofy faces or tickling her like he usually did.

"Uncle Dean misses Aunt Shannon and Dylan," he simply said, seeing no sense in explaining to the little girl what was really on his mind because she obviously wouldn't understand.

"You feel lonely?" she asked another question, not liking when he was like that. She liked him more when he was being funny.

"A little bit. But I have you here with me, right sweetheart?" he tried to joke, surprised when Leni suddenly cupped his face with her tiny little hands.

"Luw you, uncle Deanie," she said smiling, pecking her uncle's lips quickly before wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him as tightly as an almost 3-year-old girl could.

"I love you too, sweetheart," he said quietly, visibly caught off guard by his goddaughter's sudden display of affection.

He tried his best to suppress the tears that were once again threatening to escape his eyes, his emotional state confusing him and even making him mad. He had never wanted anybody to have that kind of effect on him but Shannon had him in the palm of her hand and he hated it.

"Can Leni see mommy and daddy now?" she asked sweetly after letting go of him, jumping up and down on the bed when Dean nodded his head.

"Bring me your shoes and we'll put them on, then we can go and wake them up," he said, pointing to her white flats that were sitting next to his suitcase on the floor.

Just a few minutes later they made their way to Roman and Karolina's room that was next to them, the little girl knocking on their door as hard as she could, excited to see her parents again after only spending a night apart from them.

"Munchkin, there you are," Roman said cheerfully after opening the door, picking up his daughter and placing butterfly kisses all over her face, making her giggle.

"Daddy's hair sooo beautiful," she said appreciatively, running her little fingers through his mane which for once wasn't held back in a ponytail.

"Not as beautiful as yours, sweetie," he replied with a chuckle, letting her down on her two feet so that she could run into the room to look for her mommy.

"Come in, man," Roman said while holding open the door, only dressed in his boxers as he had only gotten up. "Was she a good girl?"

"Compared to your wife, yes she was," he teased, yelping when Roman swatted his chest. "What? I could hear every single word you guys were saying...every fucking moan...oh yes Roman... god...yes, right there...fuck me harder."

"Dude, shut the hell up. I don't want Leni to hear any of this," he admonished, sending Dean a death glare when he kept laughing.

"Well, she might have heard you guys last night...," Dean trailed off, knowing that this would drive Roman insane. "But...thankfully she was sound asleep."

"You fucking idiot," Roman sighed, running a shaky hair through his long hair.

"I love you too, bro," he replied, still chuckling a little before finally calming down again. "So, did you strike home?"

Dean didn't even have to explain what he meant by that as Roman knew him well enough to know what he was referring to. He just had a way of expressing things which you could simply call 'Ambrose-like'.

"I don't know yet, man. I guess we'll only know in a few days," the Samoan answered, putting a shirt over his head when they reached Karo and Leni in the bedroom of the hotel room, the little girl sitting on her mommy's lap, both of them cuddling with each other.

"So, if your little fellas didn't get the job done this time, just let me know and I'll take care of your princess again," Dean teased, raising his hands in defence when Roman and Karolina looked at him warningly.

"Little fellas?" Leni asked, giggling when she said that as her parents seemed to be blushing a little.

"Never mind for now, little Leni. One day you'll know," the short-haired man said, saluting his two best friends before leaving their room without saying another word.

**...**

"So, you really wanna tell me that Dean said he wants to be single again?" Seth asked shocked, one arm wrapped around Maxine's shoulders who was pushing the twin stroller in front of them, both babies sleeping like angels.

"Damn right. He apparently misses fucking around as well. I think I might have bored him," Shannon huffed, watching Dylan intently while he was making sand castles with the other kids that were on the playground.

"Well, clearly I know Dean the least from all of you, but I can't imagine that he really meant that," Maxine chimed in. "Why would he? He loves the two of you."

"Obviously that's not enough for him. How could I even think he really loved me?" she asked no one in particular, no more tears left as she had shed so many during the last couple of days.

"Have you even given him a chance to explain?" Seth asked, letting go of Maxi as she had to give Joan her pacifier back after she started crying.

"Well, I let him talk the day he left for work. But I kicked him out the minute he was done. I didn't want to see him anymore," she admitted, her heart heavy in her chest when her son yelled the word 'NOPE' at one of the kids loudly. That always reminded her of Dean.

"Look, I understand that you're hurt and you have every right to be. But as far as I know, Dean probably feels like a piece of shit now. Shannon, lemme tell you that he loves you from the bottom of his heart. I just know it. Quite frankly, there had been tons of women trying to get into his pants while he was still on the road with us. But he wouldn't even think about it twice. He took out a pic of Dylan, you and him and shoved it into their faces, telling me to fuck off," Seth said truthfully, hoping that he could reach her with his words. "Now come on, don't we all sometimes wish we had our old life back?"

He swallowed hard when both Maxine and Shannon looked at him expectantly, having the evil eye.

"That doesn't mean that we're not happy, now does it? Let's take Karo for example. She's head over heels in love with Roman, they're probably gonna have dozens of babies. But you know what? She told Roman straight to his face that she keeps fantasizing about having sex with Vin Diesel on the hood of one of his muscle cars. Do they end things because of that? No, they don't. I know that my wifey right here probably masturbates to Channing Tatum movies when I'm not around. And that's cool. As long as she keeps coming back to me, then that's fine with me. Just because we're longing for things we can't have or we once had, doesn't mean we necessarily want it back. Before he met you, Dean has been banging various chicks his whole life. He was so used to be doing this that I think it's still in the back of his mind. As much as he wishes to have his old life back, he wouldn't want to change anything for the world. You and Dylan are all he keeps talking about. He has a big mouth, you know it Shan, but you've been dating that dumbass for quite a few years now...don't give up on you guys so easily," Seth told her, noticing how she seemed to be thinking hard about his words.

"I think Seth's right. Give him another chance. He's been faithful ever since being with you, right?" Maxine asked, smiling when Shannon nodded her head yes. "See. He could have cheated on you if he only wanted to. But he didn't."

Shannon decided not to say another word. She had to think about the things she had just been told, Seth's explanation and reasoning plausible and even understandable, but it wouldn't take away the pain she was feeling deep inside. She didn't know if she could still trust him. What if he one day decided he was indeed sick of her? What if he would revert to old behaviour patterns? Only time could tell.

And only she could and would decide if there was another chance for them at all...

**...**

"I feel really sorry for Shannon. It must have hurt a lot to hear him say all these things," Maxine said after putting Hayley into her crib while Seth did the same with Joan, both girls in desperate need for a nap.

"That's just how Dean is. He sometimes doesn't think before he starts talking. He doesn't even realize how hurtful his words are. But he's a really good guy though," Seth replied, closing the door behind them before following his wife downstairs to the kitchen.

"So, we all wish we had our old life back sometimes?" she asked mockingly, handing him one of the bottles of water she just took out of the fridge. "But before you answer: No, I'm not masturbating to Channing Tatum movies. It's actually Johnny Depp."

"You're disgusting," he said, taking a huge sip of his cold beverage with a mischievous smile on his face.

"Not as disgusting as these porn magazines I found in one of your old packing cases," she countered, laughing when he choked on the water he was drinking. "Relax, I didn't even touch me. They looked too...used."

"Uhm...how about we change the subject?" he quickly asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"How about you answer my question?" she retorted, raising an eyebrow at him when he avoided her gaze.

What was he supposed to say now? He actually was very happy with his life, apart from the fact that he had been fighting a lot with Maxine in the past, which fortunately had stopped after they had talked things through. He couldn't tell her that he wished he could spend more time with Karo. He missed going to concerts with her, just joking around and being goofy. But ever since being with Maxi things had changed.

"I honestly don't know what you expect me to say now. I'm happy. And I really mean it. Maybe I miss being on the road, going to clubs after the shows. But that's not my life anymore. We all have grown up, the times of crazy partying long forgotten. But that's fine. As long as I can come home after work to find my beautiful family waiting for me, then I'm happy," he replied truthfully, his heart beating fast in his chest when his wife smiled at him warmly.

"That was cheesy but very cute, Mr Rollins," she said while going around the kitchen counter, standing in between his legs while he was still sitting on the barstool.

"I know, angel. Can I get another blowjob for that?" he asked teasingly, yelping when she pulled at his ponytail forcefully.

"How about you give instead of only take, hm?" she asked seductively, passing him while motioning with her index finger for him to follow her.

The time of the month was over. Now it was time for Seth to return the favour. And boy, would he.

**...**

It was four days later that Shannon was sitting on her couch in the living room, nervously biting her nails while Dylan was playing with his toy blocks, not realizing that his mother was a nervous wreck. She knew that Dean had already landed in Pensacola after having texted Karo, letting her know that she wanted Dean to come home. Home as in his own house.

Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours, but the very moment the doorbell rang, her heart made a big jump, almost feeling as if it was exploding.

"Mommy, who that?" Dylan asked, not yet having a sense of time so that he would know it would be his father coming home.

"I don't know, boo. Let mommy go see," she said, knowing exactly who would be standing on the other side of the door.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly for a few brief moments before finally having the courage to put her hand on the doorknob, very slowly opening the front door, thousands of thoughts running through her head.

And there he was, the love of her life, the man that was the father of her baby boy. Dean Ambrose.

"Hey," he said almost shyly, his suitcase right next to him while he shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

"Hey," she replied, just as quiet as he did, almost holding her breath when she saw how gorgeous he looked.

Although he looked tired and even a little beat up, he still looked amazing to her. She loved his scruffy face, the way his hair was all messed up. This is why she fell in love with him. He was a real man.

"Uhm...may I come in?" he wondered, looking at her unsure but sighing in relief when she stepped aside to let him enter.

It felt as if he had been gone for months when it only had been a few days so far. He had no idea if he could stay here or if he would have to leave again, so he decided to let the suitcase stay on the front porch for now.

"Ahhhh DADDY...daddy daddy daddy," Dylan yelled cheerfully, throwing himself into his dad's arms, giggling and screaming when he was being thrown into the air, having missed being all wild with his father.

"Hey partner...how's it going? Have you been a good boy for mommy?" Dean asked, his knees about to buckle when he felt all the love his son was giving him. It was heart-melting.

"Dylan always a good boy," his son replied, laughing when Dean started tickling him.

Shannon watched the scene in front of her intently, on the verge of starting to cry. But she didn't even know why exactly. On one hand she was happy to see her two favourite men share such an intimate and close moment while on the other hand she felt horrible for keeping them away from each other just because she was so stubborn.

"Well, you're an Ambrose, son. That means you clearly aren't always good," Dean said with a chuckle, letting his son down after managing to get a sloppy kiss from him.

"Will daddy stay home now?" the little boy asked, looking at his father with big, hopeful eyes. "Dylan misses daddy."

Dean looked at Shannon pleadingly, not knowing what to tell his son. It was up to his girlfriend to decide if he could stay at home or if he had to leave again.

"How about you give mommy and daddy a few minutes to talk, boo? Do you wanna watch a movie? How about Tangled?" Shannon asked her son, smiling when he clapped his hands excitedly.

She quickly made her way over to the TV, putting the DVD into the corresponding device before starting the movie, knowing that their son would be distracted for a little while now. "Now be a good boy, ok? We're in the kitchen. Call if you need anything."

Dylan just nodded his hand and shooed his mother away with his hand, making Dean burst out laughing. He was so much like him already.

"Tangled? Really? That's a movie for pussies," Dean whined after they both sat down around the kitchen table, trying to lighten the mood but he did everything but that.

"He's a child, Dean. It doesn't matter yet, ok?" she admonished, rolling her eyes at him annoyed.

An uncomfortable silence fell over them, both of them not sure what to do or say next. But Dean wouldn't start a conversation this time. He had already told her everything she needed to know and apparently it was her who wanted to discuss things now, so she was the one that would have to speak up first.

"Dylan missed you," she said all of a sudden, breaking the silence that had lasted for what felt like an eternity.

"And you? What about you, Shannon?" he asked curiously, looking her straight in the eye.

She took a deep breath, swallowing hard. They both knew she had missed him like crazy but would she be able to admit it openly? Would she be able to give in and let him know that he was all she kept thinking about?

"Dean, we really need to talk things through," she said sternly, running a hand over her face. She was so tired.

"You didn't answer my question," he insisted, his eyes never leaving hers.

She sighed heavily, knowing that he wouldn't stop if she didn't answer him. He wanted and needed to know the truth or all of his would be senseless.

"Yes. Yes, I missed you. And I hate myself for it," she said quietly, tear after tear escaping her eyes now, making her even madder as she had promised herself not to cry.

"Shh, you know I don't like if you talk like that," he said soothingly, taking her hand into his and rubbing the back of it with his thumb lovingly. "I missed you too, sweet cheeks."

Once again the room fell silent, the only sounds filling the air Shannon's sobs. He hated seeing her cry. He hated seeing women cry in general, but knowing that the love of his life was crying her eyes out because of him hurt him even more.

"I love you, Shannon. And I'll never love anyone as much as I love you and Dylan. I don't know how many more times I need to apologize. I've texted you each and every fucking day to tell you how sorry I am. I've been explaining myself to you on numerous occasions, even sent you fucking flowers and chocolate. Please...tell me what I have to do to make you believe me," he said desperately, squeezing her hand softly, hoping she would finally stop shutting him out.

Another few minutes of silence passed, the tension in the room almost tangible. Dean was about to lose his temper, not being able to wait any longer until eventually she would speak up, finally putting them out of this misery.

"I can't waste my time with you if you're not sure what you want and need in your life. We can't do this to Dylan, and I won't let you do this to me again. You've broken my heart so many times already and I'm not sure if next time things will be over for good. I've made so many sacrifices for you when you think it's only you who has. We need to stick together, I need to be able to trust you. And I quite frankly have a hard time doing this right now," she admitted, the tears that had been streaming down her cheeks now drying, her head clear again now. "I need you to be committed to us. Not only me but Dylan as well. He needs a father, and I need a partner that I can rely on."

"I promise you I'll make it up to you. You know what? I'll stop drinking. Completely. No more alcohol, no more stupid shit coming outta my mouth. I've realized just how much I love you while I thought I had lost you for good. I don't wanna be without you anymore. It's been killing me. Please...let me come back home," he begged, a small smile forming on his face when she nodded her head almost imperceptible.

"This is your last chance, Dean Ambrose. And I mean it," she said sternly, pressing her index finger over his lips when he tried to bend down to kiss her. "And I need a little more time."

And with that she quickly got up, exited the kitchen and left him behind with confusion written all over his face.

**...**

"But Leni wants take bath with daddy," Leni insisted, once again stomping her foot like she usually did when she wanted something she wouldn't immediately get.

"Listen to me now, young lady. Mommy and daddy need to do something reaaaally important right now, ok? You go into your room and play with your dolls until I come pick you up," Roman said sternly, raising his finger when his daughter wanted to talk back to him. "This is not up for discussion, missy."

And with that little Leni turned around with a huff, once again walking off like a prima donna, making it hard for Roman and Karolina not to crack up laughing.

"You're sure you want another one of these?" Karo asked him, wrapping her arms around his neck lazily, kissing his lips sweetly.

"A bunch of them, to be honest," he replied, yelping when she pinched him. "What? I thought we would have at least three more."

"Dream on, big man. That's not gonna happen," she said, flipping him the bird while giggling. "Now come on, gimme those damn things and let's get this other with."

On their way back from the airport, Roman stopped at a pharmacy, giving Karo a few minutes to buy some pregnancy tests that would be able to tell if she was pregnant or not after only a few days. No need to mention how ridiculously expensive these things were. But maybe it was worth it.

He took the tests out of a plastic bag, opening the packages and handing her the three sticks, looking at her confused when she looked at him expectantly.

"Uhm, what you're waiting for?" he asked dumbfounded, not sure why she was looking at him with a frown on her face.

"I can't pee with you in here," she admitted, growling quietly when Roman started chuckling.

"Now come on Karo, we've been together for how long now?" he asked, not even expecting her to answer. "There's no need to be ashamed of peeing in front of me."

"It doesn't matter, Roman. I just...can't," she said truthfully, blushing slightly when he shook his head in disbelief, still laughing.

"Well, fine, I'll give you your privacy. It's still weird though. I mean...there have been a lot more intimate moments between us, what do you say? Don't you think it's even more personal when I eat you out?" he asked bluntly, raising his hands in defence when she sent him a death glare. "Alright, alright, I'm outta here."

He couldn't contain his laughter even after leaving the bathroom, closing the door behind him and waiting for her to call him back in. It surprised him that there were still things she would be embarrassed about. And he couldn't even understand why. He was by her side when she gave birth to their kids. Is there anything more intimate than this?

"You can come back in," she yelled, putting the three tests onto some tissues on the washing machine, setting the timer on her phone on 5 minutes. The five minutes they knew could be the longest of their lives.

"So, what do you think?" he asked, sitting down on the edge of the bathtub, pulling her closer so that she would sit on his lap. "Baby or no baby?"

"I can't really tell. I honestly don't think we're that lucky so quickly," she said thoughtful, taking a deep breath as the seconds passed by very slowly, almost driving her insane.

In silence they both waited for the alarm to finally go off, ending the painful five minutes that always seemed to be getting longer and longer.

When the phone finally rang, they both wouldn't even move, too nervous to look at what the tests would say. Roman was afraid that the disappointment for Karo would be too big if the tests were negative, knowing how much it hurt her whenever it didn't work out. But what did they have to lose this time?

"Let's do this, babygirl," he whispered into her ear, softly kissing her temple before both of them stood up, bending down to see the results of the pregnancy tests.

But as she did last time, Karo let Roman see if they were going to have a baby or not, knowing he had a clearer mind than she had.

He looked at each and every test closely, checking what the instructions said before looking deep into her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Karolina..."


	5. The Shield keeps growing

**After I was incredibly worried about Roman's health after RAW, I'm happy to know he seemingly is fine again...damn, my poor heart lol**

**Thanks for the amazing reviews! You guys are awesome!**

**Enjoy & review! :)**

Chapter 5: The Shield keeps growing

"What, Roman? What does it say?" Karolina asked nervously, not being able to read the expression on his face as it seemed to be blank.

"You...we...we did it," he stuttered, holding up one of the three tests that said she was indeed pregnant. "Lucky strike, sweetie. We're having another baby."

Karo couldn't help but scream in joy, jumping into Roman's arms that caught her just in time, her legs wrapping around his waist almost automatically. They both had never believed that it would work out so quickly, but this time, after being properly prepared, mentally and physically, the first try already was successful.

"God, I'm so happy," she mumbled against his lips, kissing him over and over again.

"Tell me about it. I've been waiting for this day ever since Leni was born," he joked, his hands now resting on her ass while she was still clinging onto him like a little monkey.

"Why mommy scream? Mommy hurt?" Leni asked after entering the bathroom, startling her parents as they didn't expect her to be able to open the door but it seemed that Roman had left it slightly open.

Roman let go of his wife, looking at her unsure. Should they tell her already? Would she even understand what this meant? Not only for her parents but her as well?

"Mommy isn't hurt, munchkin," Roman quickly told his little girl, kneeling down so that he was almost eye-level with her. "I just...I just told her I would soon be a champion again. You remember the pictures of daddy with this big golden belt around his waist? This is like...being a king, you know? This made mommy so happy that she screamed in joy."

Roman looked up at Karo who was now standing behind their daughter, nodding her head approvingly, a small smile on her face. It was way too early to tell her that she was going to be a big sister in a few months. These tests could be wrong after all. She was only a few days pregnant, if she was at all, and they wanted to check with their doctor if it was really true. They wouldn't tell Leni until the first 12 weeks of the pregnancy were over.

"Daddy will be king?" she asked confused, raising an eyebrow at Roman which made him laugh.

"Something like that," he said, nodding his head. "Does Leni want to take a bath now? I'll put some extra bubbles in there today."

"YAY," she yelled, jumping at Roman who caught her easily, both of them laughing when he started tickling her sides.

With his daughter in one arm, he moved closer to Karolina, wrapping his free arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

"I love you, babygirl," he whispered into her ear, kissing her forehead softly, a content smile on his face. A smile that would always make her melt. That would probably never stop.

"And Leni luws daddy," the little girl said while giggling, having heard what her father had said. "Mwuah."

She planted a wet, sloppy kiss onto his lips before leaning over to do the same with Karo. "Leni luws mommy too."

Never in her life would Karo have imagined to be that lucky one day. She was the happiest woman in the whole wide world – or at least that was how she felt. She was married to the most amazing man she had ever met, their daughter was definitely a gift of God, as was Joshua, and now she was probably expecting another baby. Life really couldn't get any better than this. It really couldn't.

**...**

It was late that night when Dean and Shannon were lying in their bed. She was reading a book while he only stared into space, not sure what to do or what to say. There was still a lot of tension between them, it was undeniable, but deep down it really hurt him that she was still acting so cold towards him.

"So, uhm, do we really keep going like this?" he asked out of nowhere, breaking the uncomfortable silence that was between them.

"Like what?" she asked almost disinterested, too hooked on the book she was currently reading.

"Shannon, stop acting like this," he said pleadingly and even a little annoyed, letting out a heavy sigh after taking the book away from her. "If you want to ignore me, then I might as well just leave."

"Oh, you wanna leave? Pick up some random girl and fuck her on the backseat of your car?" she huffed, trying to take back the book but he threw it away aimlessly.

"Shut up," he yelled, eventually losing his patience with her, the anger getting the best of him. "I thought we've talked this through. God Shannon, you're the only woman I wanna have sex with. When will you get this into your thick skull?"

Shannon remained silent, immediately avoiding his gaze. She knew she was being unfair but she just couldn't help it. It would take her some time to fully trust him again, and she hoped he would be patient with her.

"Please...talk to me. Don't bottle things up, sweet cheeks. I told you I would try everything in my power to make it up to you, but I can't do this on my own. You need to give me a chance at least," he said quietly, tilting her head up with his index finger so that she had to look him in the eyes.

"I'm still so hurt," she admitted, her voice almost a whisper. "I'm afraid of losing you."

Dean swallowed hard after hearing her say this. Not only did the words hurt him, but the way she had said them. So sad, so heartbroken.

"You're not gonna lose me. Never. I'm not going anywhere. God, who wants such a fucked up idiot like me apart from you?" he joked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

And he succeeded. Shannon tried her hardest to suppress a smile but it was to no avail.

"Look, how about we spend the day tomorrow as a family? Just you, me and Dylan?" he asked, hoping she would like the idea and agree to it.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked curiously, sitting up so that her back was resting against the headboard of their bed.

"Uhm, actually that was a very spontaneous idea," he said with a chuckle, trying to think of something as quickly as possible. "Maybe a day at the beach sounds lame but we haven't done that in ages. Which is a shame considering that the ocean is just a few feet away. Afterwards I'll buy us some ice cream."

A huge smile spread across Shannon's face, her heart even making a big jump. It was a small step they were taking but it meant so much more to them.

"I love that idea," she said, even pecking his lips very quickly. "Dylan will be so thrilled."

**...**

"Dylan Ambrose, I'm only going to tell you this one last time: you come here now and let me put the sun lotion on your skin. I'm not giving you your shovel and bucket if you don't," Shannon scolded her son who kept running away from her, his bathing diaper making it difficult for him to be quick enough so that his mother could easily catch him.

"But I need to play now," he whined, breaking away from her and running to his daddy to hide behind his back, making him laugh.

"Dean, would you please stop laughing? I'm trying to raise your child properly," she scoffed, looking at him expectantly.

"Okay, listen to me son," he whispered into Dylan's ear, turning around slightly so that his son could sit in his lip. "You'll be a good boy now, ok? You go to your mommy and let her do her job, right? Afterwards we'll have a water fight with her. We're a team, alright?"

"Aight," the little boy said, high fiving his dad before lazily strolling to his mom who already had some lotion on her hands.

"Why do I always have to repeat myself, young man?" she asked sternly, rubbing the ointment onto his body before finishing with his face, chuckling when he was shining like a diamond.

"'Cause Dylan is Ambrose," he said seriously, making Dean and Shannon burst out laughing.

"Oh, you definitely are, boo," she said, watching how he made his way over to his dad, taking his hand into his tiny one only to try to get him up which was difficult considering the 200+ pounds Dean weighed.

"How about you check how cold the water is, partner?" Dean asked after getting up himself, smiling at his son when he nodded his head and made his way to the ocean.

"He's a devil sometimes," Shannon said after sighing heavily, surprised when Dean suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

"You look fucking sexy in that bikini, sweet cheeks," he whispered into her ear, nibbling at her earlobe softly. "I wish I could take you right here, right now."

A moan escaped her lips when he started kissing her neck, his hands now resting on her ass, squeezing gently. As mad as she still was at him, she knew that she couldn't fight him off for too much longer. He knew her sweet spots, always having the ability to make her putty in his hands. It was her weakness. HE was her weakness.

"Well, I'm not really sure if you read this in some kind of guidebook about how to raise your children, but I'm pretty sure that _performing coitus_ most definitely shouldn't be done in front of your son," a deep male voice suddenly said, making them jump.

"God, Roman, you fucking startled me," Shannon said, holding her chest in shock, watching how the Reigns family was approaching them.

"Fucking," Leni repeated, giggling when both Roman and Karolina groaned in unison.

"That's a bad word, missy. Forget about it immediately. Auntie Shannon didn't mean to say that, right?" Karo asked, directing her question at her best friend who just shrugged her shoulders innocently, an apologetic smile on her face.

"Ugh...DYLAN, stop that," Dean instantly yelled as soon as he noticed how his son was drinking the salty water, quickly running over to him to stop him. "Spit that out."

"This not yummy," the little boy said in disgust, spitting out the water and wiping his mouth. "Dylan thirsty."

"Then you should have told me. You don't just drink or eat anything you find somewhere without asking me or mommy first, you understand?" Dean admonished, picking up his son and walking back to their beach towels, not surprised to see that Roman, Karo and Leni joined them.

"You're making such a girly girl out of her," Dean stated, chuckling when he saw the red, striped sailor bathing suit the little girl was wearing. Not to forget that it had a corresponding bonnet and even a tutu.

"And you think your son is superman. Is that any better?" Karo asked, pointing to the blue swimming trunks Dylan was wearing, the superman symbol on his little behind prominent.

"He IS superman, just like his dad," the short-haired man said with a grin, handing his son a juice box of apple juice to get the salty taste out of his mouth.

"So, I called Seth and Maxine to let them know we're here. Hope that's ok," Roman said nonchalantly, not once thinking about the possibility of the little family wanting to spend some alone time.

Dean looked at Shannon unsure, telepathically asking her if she was fine with that but by the smile on her face he knew that she didn't complain.

"Not at all. That's cool. Are they bringing the little brats?" Dean asked, yelping when Shannon threw a plastic shovel at him. "Ouch, what was that for?"

"For calling Joan and Hayley brats," she said, rolling her eyes at him. "Plus, it was a stupid question. Do you think they'll take care of themselves?"

"Who can take care of themselves?" Seth asked out of nowhere, making everybody turn around at the very same time. "Whoa...now that was a very synchronic movement. Respect."

"Dean thought that maybe Joan and Hayley would prepare dinner while you were relaxing here with us," Karo said, making everybody chuckle.

"That's the next thing we wanted to teach them. It's about damn time," Maxine said with a giggle, opening the parasol on the twins' stroller to shield them from the sun.

"Mind if we joined you?" Seth asked while already spreading their towels onto the sand, taking off his t-shirt and throwing it onto the bag he had brought along, not even expecting an answer from his friends. He would stay anyways.

"Well, I actually do mind," Karolina said, trying to sound as serious as possible, but when Seth looked at her with a raised eyebrow, she burst out laughing.

"Thought so," he simply said, smiling at his wife when she sat down next to him, although a little confused why she wouldn't take off her clothes. "You wanna keep these on?"

He tried to make a point by pulling at her shirt, a frown on his face when she nodded her head weakly.

"Yeah, I really should. I still look f...," she started to explain but he wouldn't even let her finish her sentence, interrupting her immediately.

"Don't you dare say you look fat. Maxi, all these girls here had babies. Nobody is going to look at you differently. You look sexy, angel," he insisted, sighing when he realized that they all were the same when it came to their bodies, especially after giving birth.

"Yeah, you look sexy, Maxine. Now get outta these clothes," Roman said bluntly, groaning when she wanted to retort something. "And don't start with the 'But I look fat' and the 'But I have stretchmarks bullshit. I've heard this way too often already. I'll have Dean spank you if you do."

"Well, if I were you, I definitely would start whining now," Karo said with a mischievous smirk on her face, winking at Shannon who exactly knew what she was referring to.

Dean, Seth and Roman just looked at each other confused when the girls started laughing, shaking their heads while rolling their eyes. Their girls were one of a kind.

"OUCH," Dylan suddenly screamed, rubbing his eyes with both of his hands, crying so much that his cheeks turned red. "Dylan no like Leni."

Leni and Dylan started playing with the shovels and buckets while the adults were lost in conversation, sitting next to each other in the sand.

"What happened?" Shannon and Roman asked at the same time, quickly getting up to go to their children, checking what had happened.

"Leni threw sand. My eyes hurt," Dylan continued to cry, trying to fight off his mother who tried to take his hands away, wanting to see if he had sand in his eyes.

"Leni, is that true?" Roman asked sternly, looking at his daughter expectantly.

"Dylan smashed Leni's castle," she said, pointing to the heap of sand that was in front of her, smiling sweetly at her dad.

What both Roman and Shannon didn't know was that it was the other way round as Leni had smashed both her and Dylan's sand castle before throwing some sand at the little boy. She was such a naughty girl sometimes.

"Stop bugging Leni, you hear me?" Shannon scolded her son, finally able to look into his eyes which thankfully weren't full of sand. "I want you to be a good boy."

"But mommy...," the little boy started but his mother just shook her head disapprovingly.

"And I don't want you to throw sand, have I made myself clear?" Roman asked his daughter while he was kneeling down next to her, looking at her expectantly.

"Yes daddy," she said sweetly, once again batting her eyelashes at him, knowing that this would make him weak in the knees. "Leni always a good girl."

"That you are," Roman said smiling, kissing her forehead softly before following Shannon back to the others, leaving both kids alone again.

When they were gone, Leni looked at Dylan with a mischievous smile on her face, once again smashing the sand castle her so-called cousin had just started building again. She was such a devil sometimes.

**...**

"So, Reigns, did you knock your girl up now or what?" Dean asked when they were gathered around a table in Roman and Karolina's garden in the evening, both Leni and Dylan playing with some Shield action figures while Seth and Maxine were feeding Joan and Hayley who had almost slept through the day.

"You already tried again?" Shannon asked dumbfounded after sipping on her beer, looking at her friends intently.

True to his word, Dean was the only one who didn't take a beer when Roman offered him one – apart from Karolina of course – telling Shannon to go for it when she looked at him unsure. It was his way of showing her that he was serious about winning her back.

"Uhm...yeah...we...we tried again," Karo stuttered, actually not wanting to spill the beans unless they were hundred percent sure that the tests were indeed right about her being pregnant.

"So?" Seth asked curiously, winking at his best friend with an encouraging smile on his face, knowing that Karo probably felt a little uneasy talking about it just yet.

She looked at Roman unsure, silently begging him for help. They hadn't really talked about letting the others know, not expecting for Dean to bring this up with everybody around but now they were in this situation and they needed to find a solution.

"How do you even know they tried?" Maxine asked with a frown on her face, picking up Joan to make her burp after she had finished her bottle.

"They made me babysit Leni while they were fucking," he said with a smirk, laughing when Karo gave him a death glare.

"Uncaring parents," Seth mumbled teasingly, yelping when Karo, who was sitting next to him, pulled on his ponytail tightly. "Best parents in the world I meant...yeah...ouch...best parents in the damn universe."

"Well?" Shannon asked, not letting herself get distracted when something so important had to be discussed. "Did it work?"

"Uh...so...we took a few tests yesterday...you know...and yeah, they all were positive but...," he explained but couldn't even finish as everyone started clapping and cheering loudly, making Dylan and Leni join them while they were laughing, although not knowing why they parents were so excited.

"God, that's fucking great," Dean said, a huge smile on his face when for once he didn't freak out about one of them becoming parents. "Your sperm is the bomb, dude."

"Not as much as Seth's," Roman retorted, pointing his index finger at the two girls that were his twin daughters, making everybody crack up laughing.

"Well, we want to make sure first. I have an appointment with Dr Matthews in two weeks. Then he can confirm if I'm pregnant or not. So, please let's just keep this to ourselves for now. Obviously I have to talk to Hunter and Stephanie though, but I've wanted to do this for quite a while now, to be honest," Karo said, smiling when Roman took her hand into his, squeezing it softly.

"Really? Why is that? You want another salary increase again?" Seth teased, once again yelping when Karo pulled at his ponytail another time.

"Actually...I wanna quit," she said brutally honest, not surprised when all of a sudden everybody fell silent, some of them looking at her wide-eyed while others stared at her blankly. "Don't look at me like that now. I've made my decision. I can't keep on touring with Leni all the time. I don't have the strength to be a wrestler, a wife and mother all at the same time. I want my children to have a steady environment. Waking up in another city each and every day is not the solution in this case."

"But Roman...," Maxine said quietly, letting her sentence trail off.

"I'll keep going of course. Many wrestlers do it like that. I mean...look at you, Shannon. It's the same exact thing with you and Dean. You stay at home with Dylan while he's on the road. It works, it has to. This is something we both decided would be the best for Leni, and her future siblings," Roman explained, smiling at them all.

"Siblings as in plural?" Dean asked, the shock on his face evident. "I don't think I can't take more of these..."

"Well, I was planning for at least three more but the wifey doesn't approve. So I guess it will only be one more...meaning the one she's probably carrying right now," Roman replied, caressing her still flat stomach gently.

"Can you name him Fred?" Dean asked, making everybody chuckle. Everybody but Shannon.

"Dean," she huffed annoyed, rolling her eyes at him.

"What? Fred is such a cool name," he insisted, hoping Roman would agree with him but when the Samoan shook his head no, he knew that even his friend wouldn't support his idea.

"God, you all suck," he mumbled, sipping on his water before somebody was pulling on his leg.

"Suck?" Leni asked, looking at her uncle confused, not having heard this word just yet.

"Ugh, Ambrose...you really need to s...," Roman started but Karo quickly stopped him, finishing his sentence.

"You really need to...remain silent," she said, giving him a smile that wasn't an encouraging but a warning one, making him understand that he needed to be careful with his choice of words while the kids were around.

Dean Ambrose, although he had improved at being a daddy and uncle, he would always be... himself.

**...**

It was a few days later that Karolina had arrived at the Performance Center in Tampa, Florida. She had called Stephanie to let her know she needed to meet her and Hunter urgently, and as they were in Florida anyways, this was the place the meeting would take place.

But before she was even able to look for her boss's office, she ran into someone she had long forgotten about. A person that once had made her life a living hell. Somebody who had surprisingly left her alone ever since things with her and Roman became serious.

"Karolina," he said quietly, his voice almost a whisper. "It's good to see you here."

Karo didn't know what to say, not at all. She looked at him suspiciously, wondering why all of a sudden he would talk to her when all these years they had avoided each other. Maybe because Roman wasn't around for once.

"Drew, what do you want?" she asked annoyed, wanting to pass him but he blocked her way.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing. Everything alright with the kiddo and...Roman?" he asked, Roman's name still leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

"Why would you even care?" she wondered, frowning at him when he smiled at her warmly.

"I'm just trying to be nice here, ok? Look, we've never really talked about w...," he started but she quickly cut him off, not wanting to talk about the sex tape which clearly belonged to the past.

"Stop it, ok? I don't care anymore. Just leave me alone like you've done the last few years," she all but begged, once again wanting to leave but he simply wouldn't let her.

"You've never given me the chance to say sorry. Because I am. I've been such a dick for doing this to you. I wish I could take it back but...well...we both know I can't. But hey, apparently a certain someone didn't care about the tape. So you're all good, huh?" he stated, smiling at her once again. And this time his smile was genuine.

Karolina didn't know what to say. If this was an apology, should she accept it now? Could she? She was confused.

"Uhm...does this...you know...do you still have it?" she asked nervously, almost not being able to look into his eyes.

"The video?" he asked, grinning when she nodded her head yes. "It's gone. I've deleted it."

"Seriously?" she now looked up at him, insecurity reflecting in her eyes.

"I swear. No more copies on my computer, USB stick or discs...it doesn't even exist anymore," he confirmed, chuckling when she sighed a sigh of relief.

"Well...uhm...thanks," she said, still a little unsure, now looking him straight in the eye again. "Although I still hate you for doing this to me."

And with that she finally passed him, extremely relieved to know that she could finally put to rest the worry about the sex tape popping up again someday. Thank God.


	6. Life-changing events

**I thought we might as well start the new week with a new chapter, what do you think? ;-)**

**Enjoy & review :)**

Chapter 6: Life-changing events

It was about three months later that things between Dean and Shannon were finally perfectly fine again. It had been a long and rocky road but Dean had tried his best to convince her that she was the only one for him. She was definitely the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, together with their son Dylan, who meant the world to him. He loved them both more than his own life.

Not only had he told her every single day that she was THE one for him, no, he had let his actions speak. Taking her to the movies, inviting her to dinner, even cooking for her and doing everyday stuff she normally did like doing laundry or cleaning the house. And last but not least: the passionate lovemaking sessions that lasted for endless hours. For some people this might be the normal life of a couple, but for Dean and Shannon this was something special. As funny as it might sound.

Dean watched his girlfriend suspiciously when she re-entered the bedroom after having gone to the bathroom, both of them just having woken up a few minutes ago. Thankfully Dylan was still asleep so that they could spend a little more alone-time with each other without being disturbed.

"What's up, sweet cheeks?" he asked while running a hand through his messy hair, the scared expression on her face not going unnoticed by him.

"I wish I knew," she mumbled, sitting down next to him on the bed, watching him as he moved up so that his back was now resting against the headboard. "I'm bleeding."

"Thank God we had sex yesterday," Dean said with a chuckle, but the smile on his face immediately vanished when she didn't join his laughter like she normally would.

"It's not the time of the month, Dean," she said with a sigh, holding her stomach as once again cramps were making her cringe. "Something doesn't feel right. Not at all."

"What do you mean something doesn't feel right? Are you in pain? Is everything ok?" he asked nervously, moving so quickly that in one fell swoop he was sitting right next to her. "Should I bring you to a doctor?"

A quiet knock on their door interrupted their conversation, the little brown-haired boy opening the bedroom door slowly and peeking his head inside. "Good morning mommy, good morning daddy."

"Hey partner...come in," Dean said with a weak smile, trying to act as if nothing had happened although deep down he was really concerned about Shannon's health.

Dylan skipped into the room, hopping onto the bed to sit in between his parents, his Dean Ambrose action figure squeezed under his tiny arm tightly, a huge smile on his face.

"I had a dream, it been great," the almost 3-year old said, looking back and forth between his mom and dad, hoping that one of them would ask him what he had been dreaming about.

"It was great," Shannon corrected him before running her hand through his short hair, smiling. "What was the dream about, boo?"

Dylan sighed heavily, preparing himself theatrically as if he had to give a presentation before starting to tell them.

"So, mommy had big belly and then I had little brother, he was soooo cute," he announced proudly, clapping his hands excitedly when he thought about being a big brother.

"It was a boy, not a girl?" Shannon asked curiously, knowing that Dean wasn't able to react just yet, the news about his son's dream probably shocking him.

"No, a boy. He looked like me," he replied, finally having stopped talking about himself in third person as he had always done before. He was one step ahead of Leni already. "I wanna be big brother."

Shannon and Dean looked at each other desperately, not sure what to tell their son as they haven't really talked about this subject at all. As much as Dean loved their child, he definitely didn't want another one. He was surprised the first time he had been told he would be a dad, he was sure he wouldn't be able to handle it once again.

"Well, who knows what happens, little man. Until then, you have Leni...you can be her big brother. How does that sound?" Dean asked a little uncomfortably, ruffling his son's hair lovingly.

"Leni is mean," Dylan mumbled, crossing his arms in front of his chest, pouting slightly. "She always hits me."

"Well, then you have to hit her back," Dean replied, yelping when his girlfriend swatted his arm. "Ouch, what was that for?"

"He shouldn't hit her back. That's not the right thing to do and you know that," Shannon scolded, rolling her eyes when Dean looked at her innocently. He was so immature sometimes.

"But if she h..." he started but was immediately cut off mid-sentence by his better half.

"No buts," she insisted sternly, turning her attention back to her son, making him look at her by lifting his chin with her index finger. "Next time Leni hits you when we're not around, you tell Uncle Roman or Auntie Karolina, ok? Don't hurt her. We don't hit or kick others, do you understand me?"

She smiled when Dylan nodded his head in understanding but once again cringed when she had cramps in her lower abdomen.

"How about you go and brush your teeth? Mommy needs to talk to daddy for a minute, ok?" she asked, kissing his forehead softly before he hopped off of the bed, quickly leaving the bedroom with his action figure in his hand, never letting go of it.

"You're in pain, Shannon. Let me bring you to a doctor. I don't want you to suffer when I leave for work again in two days," Dean rambled, taking one of her hands into his, squeezing lightly while softly brushing a strand of hair out of her face with his free hand.

"I'm afraid. What if...what if something's wrong with me?" she asked no one in particular, trying her hardest to suppress the tears that were forming in her eyes. She really didn't want to cry. "I mean...I've had some kind of stomach ache for a couple of days now without worrying about it too much, but this right now...it's almost unbearable."

She normally was a strong and fearless person but whenever something like that happened, she was scared to death. It wasn't normal for her to just bleed like that, not to that extent at least.

"We don't worry about that just yet, you hear me? I'll drop Dylan off at Roman's and then we go from there," he insisted, kissing her temple softly before getting up. "Go and get ready while I take care of Dylan."

Shannon just nodded her head silently, her heart pounding fast in her chest in fear. She didn't have a good feeling about this, not at all. Her body didn't feel right, this wasn't normal. And as much as she didn't want to know the truth, she knew that she needed to see a doctor. There was no turning back now.

**...**

"Hey guys, what's up?" Roman said after opening the front door, surprised to see Dean with Dylan on his arm in front of him without having been called before. Normally they announced whenever they came over.

"Hey man. I've gotta ask you for a favour. Could you watch Dylan for an hour or two?" Dean asked, letting his son back down on his feet as he was starting to become fussy.

"Sure...of course. Everything alright, bro?" the Samoan asked after stepping inside, letting Dean enter the house since Dylan had already run in, probably searching for Leni so that they could play.

"Not so sure yet. I need to bring Shannon to go see a doc. She's in pain and...well...she's bleeding," he said, a little uncomfortable talking about something so intimate although he normally had a big mouth.

"Oh, that doesn't sound like the time of the month then?" his friend more stated than asked, sighing when Dean shook his head negatively. "Look, it's gonna be okay. Maybe it's nothing too serious. I guess women sometimes have some kind of bleeding because of stress or some shit like that."

"Talk is cheap, big man. She's in a lot of pain. And she's scared. And that scares the shit outta me," he confessed truthfully, running a hand over his scruffy stubble. Whenever he was home he went without shaving for several days and it actually looked quite good on him.

"You need any help? Do you want Karo to go with you?" he asked, noticing that his wife was now approaching them in the hallway as the kids apparently started playing with their toys in the living room.

"Go where?" she asked curiously, hugging Dean and kissing his cheek like she normally did whenever they met up.

"Apparently Shannon is bleeding and in a lot of pain. Dean asked us to watch Dylan while he's taking her to a doctor," Roman explained, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders.

"Damn...how come? Where is she now? Can we do anything? Do you need help?" Karo fired questions at their common best friend, a frown on her face. Due to her pregnancy, which had been confirmed by Dr Matthews several weeks ago, she was even more emotional than she normally was.

"Relax, princess. It's okay. I've got this. She's back home. I think I'll bring her directly to the hospital rather than to her GP," he stated, letting out a deep breath while running a shaky hand through his hair. "I'll come back as soon as we're done. Thanks for watching Dylan."

"No need to thank us. He's as much our son as he's yours," Roman said honestly, making Dean smile.

Never in his life would he have thought that one day he would have such amazing friends. Not only were they friends, no, he considered them family. Seth and Roman were the brothers he'd never had whereas Karo and Maxine were like sisters to him. Although he really didn't like calling them that when he once again complimented their looks, especially Karo's boobs. He just couldn't help it, that would never change.

"Alright. I see you later, guys," Dean replied, quickly turning around and leaving the house before Dylan could make a scene, as he always wanted to go wherever his daddy went. He was such a daddy's boy.

Karo turned to look at her husband, worry and fear reflecting in her eyes when she thought of her best friend who seemingly was in a lot of pain.

"I really hope she's okay," she mumbled, wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat which always calmed her down.

"I'm sure she is. We're probably overreacting. Don't worry too much, babygirl," he tried to comfort her, kissing her forehead softly before gently letting go of her. "So, what are we gonna do with the kids now? Any ideas?"

Karo didn't even have a chance to reply as all of a sudden Leni and Dylan came running into the hallway, both of them jumping at Roman who was able to catch his daughter just in time while Dylan wrapped his arms around one of his legs.

"Daddy, let's wrassle," little Leni said, trying to put her father into a sleeperhold which obviously wasn't possible as her arms were way too short, but Roman played along anyways.

"Yeah, Uncle Ro, let's wrassle," Dylan yelled, holding onto Roman's leg for dear life as the big Samoan started walking into the living room.

"Mommy is referee," the girl shouted excitedly, waving at her mother to let her know she should follow them, giggling into her father's ear, making his heart melt.

"Can't mommy be my tag team partner?" Roman asked, chuckling when Leni once again tried wrapping her arms around his neck tightly.

"NO," Leni yelled loudly, making grunting noises as she tried to wrestle with her father. "When mommy and daddy wrassle, always they play kissy faces. Ugh."

"Ewww," Dylan added quickly, making funny faces when he thought about his uncle and aunt kissing as he would never ever kiss a girl, or so he said.

"Okay okay, mommy is the ref then," Roman gave in defeated, holding his breath when Dylan accidentally hit his crotch, trying not to let show that he was in slight pain.

He got down on his knees, thankful that Dylan let go of him, only to try to clothesline him, at the same time hitting Leni in the process who immediately started crying.

"You my partner, you no hit Leni," the little girl sniffled, rubbing the back of her head where his arm had connected.

She now wrapped her arms around her daddy's neck again, this time softly as she wanted him to comfort her.

"Shh, don't cry, munchkin. Dylan didn't mean to hurt you. It was an accident. Things like that happen," he whispered into her ear, kissing her chubby cheek lovingly, yelping when she suddenly climbed onto his back, very awkwardly, holding onto his neck tightly from behind. That cheeky little thing had tricked him.

"Do Daniel kick, do Daniel kick," she screamed at Dylan, wanting him to do the kicks Daniel Bryan always did when his opponents were on their knees.

When he started kicking Roman's stomach, Leni started the 'YES' chants, cheering for Dylan and encouraging him to keep going, making Karolina laugh heartily.

"Hey ref...don't laugh. You'd better help me, missy. They need to be disqualified," Roman said in a raspy voice as his daughter was still holding him in place.

"It's a handicap match, Mr Superman Punch. There's only so much I can do," she said teasingly, winking at him when he growled at her, kneeling down behind Dylan as she knew the kids would pin her husband soon.

"Let go now, Leni," Dylan shouted, with one last kick wanting Roman to tumble, which he did of course, knowing what was to come.

After that one final kick, Dylan moved out of the way, so that little Leni could finally do her finishing move.

"Uhaaaaa," she roared with her arms wide open, just like her daddy always did on TV, taking a running start and spearing Roman, as much as she could with her tiny shoulders.

Not wanting to disappoint the kids, he fell backwards while groaning, landing on his back so that both kids could jump on him, pinning him for the three count.

"1...2...3...ding ding ding...your winners and new world champions, Dylan Ambrose and Leni Reigns," Karo announced with a firm and loud voice, high fiving the children who jumped up and down excitedly, even hugging each other over their huge win.

"Help...I need a doctor...please...uh..." Roman coughed, playfully holding his ribs as if he was in pain. "Isn't there a nurse around?"

Karolina knowingly crawled over to him, pushing up his shirt slightly to 'examine' him, not realizing that Dylan and Leni started whispering to each other while watching the adults with disgusted expressions on their faces.

"Told you they play kissy faces," Leni mumbled quietly, covering her eyes with her tiny hands.

"Ewww," Dylan once again said, also covering his eyes, not wanting this to be stuck in his head.

"Stoooop," Leni exclaimed when she opened her eyes again, seeing that her parents were indeed kissing now, something she clearly didn't like.

Karo and Roman immediately stopped, both of them bursting out laughing when they turned their attention to the kids who were looking at them annoyed and with raised eyebrows.

"I just wanted to show daddy how much I love him, munchkin," Karo said with a chuckle, already having explained to Leni that people kissed when they liked each other very much. And maybe that was the reason why the little girl constantly wanted to kiss and cuddle, especially with her daddy, Uncle Seth and Uncle Dean. She loved these men unconditionally, for whatever reason.

Without thinking, Leni turned around, grabbing Dylan's face with both of her hands before quickly placing a sloppy kiss onto his lips.

When she stepped back again, both kids looked at each other in silence before all of a sudden wiping their mouths with the back of their hands and yelling 'YUCK' in unison, making Karo and Roman laugh even harder. These kids would be the death of them one day.

**...**

Dean and Shannon had been in the hospital for over an hour now and it seemed to take longer and longer. The doctor had already run several tests, wanting to see the results of her blood and urine tests before doing an ultrasonic examination which would probably also help in finding out what was bothering her.

"All this waiting is driving me insane...fucking hell," Dean scoffed clearly annoyed, holding his girlfriend's hand tightly, not leaving her side for a second.

"No shit. I'm just glad they gave me some pain killers. These cramps were killing me," she replied in agreement, taking a deep breath while she was staring at the ceiling. She was exhausted and tired, not wanting to stay there for another minute but she knew she had to endure this a little longer so that they could help her feel better again.

The doctor hadn't even told them about his suspicions regarding her condition, making Dean so incredibly mad that deep down he wanted to punch him in the face but he knew that he had to remain calm for Shannon or else she would freak out. Something he clearly didn't need at the moment in the state she was in.

"Miss O'Brien, Mr Ambrose, I have finally received the first results of your tests," Dr Hanson said after entering the examination room again, startling them both as they were deeply lost in thought. "Unfortunately the inflammation value of your blood test is dangerously high."

"What does that mean, doc? Is she sick? What can we do?" Dean quickly asked, swallowing hard when he felt how his girlfriend was squeezing his hand tightly, something that showed him that she was extremely scared.

"I'm not sure yet, to be honest. I would like to do an ultrasound to make sure where exactly the bleeding is coming from," he said with an encouraging smile on his face before getting up from his chair and preparing the ultrasonic device which he wheeled next to the examination table Shannon was lying on.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room while Dr Hanson made all the preparations necessary, squeezing some gel onto her stomach before finally - after what felt like an eternity - moving the device over her belly, staring at the display intently with a frown on his face. Something that made Dean feel very uneasy.

The doctor pushed a few buttons now and then, printing out pictures, pushing into her skin once in a while to get a better view while remaining silent all the time which was killing the couple. They were clearly at the end of their rope, not sure what to expect from all of this. There was so much tension in the room that it was almost tangible.

"Yes...just as I suspected..." the doctor mumbled quietly, almost inaudibly, taking the sonagram pictures and handing them to Shannon and Dean, both of them unsure what all of this had to mean. There wasn't really anything they could recognize on the black and white picture which confused them, making them even more nervous.

"Miss O'Brien, you have several so-called myomas in your cervix. These are swellings that seemingly become increasingly bigger with time. According to your medical records, I was able to see that you've had difficulties with your uterus in the past which could explain all of this. I would like to talk this through with a colleague of mine to make sure that this is the right decision, but I'm afraid we urgently need to have surgery to remove your cervix to stop the bleeding and avoid the possibility of these swellings to turn into a tumour."

While Shannon gasped in shock, covering her mouth with her free hand so that she wouldn't scream out loud, Dean only stared at the doctor emotionless, not being able to process what they had just been told. Was he dreaming? Was he imagining things? Myoma? Tumour? Surgery? The words kept echoing through his head over and over again. He couldn't really fathom it. This couldn't be true.

"I'll give you a few minutes to yourselves while I go and talk to Dr Tenner," the doctor said quietly, not sure if they were even listening to him anymore as they were staring into space, which was only understandable after what he had just informed them about.

They didn't even realize that Dr Hanson had left the room, both of them still in shock about the news that they had just received. This was like a nightmare coming true. Now that they finally had found peace with each other again, something like that had to happen. It was as if they weren't allowed to be happy once and for all. Why? Why Shannon? Why them?

"They're going to remove my cervix," Shannon whispered, breaking the silence after several minutes, endless tears streaming down her face, her body shaking uncontrollably with sobs. "I'm not going to be a real woman anymore."

That sentence snapped Dean out of his trance, the look on his face reflecting anger and annoyance. "What the fuck are you even talking about? Do you think I care if you have a fucking uterus or not? Dammit Shannon, don't you get that this is some serious shit right here? You could have a freaking tumour, for fuck's sake. And all you keep thinking about is that you won't be a real woman anymore? Seriously? Is that all you care about right now?"

Shannon looked at Dean shocked when he started screaming at her. She was expecting him to comfort her, take her into his arms and tell her that everything would be okay. But she was dead wrong about that. Dean had once again lost his temper, completely freaking out, and that made her feel even worse now.

It now occurred to them that they had never really talked about having another baby again. It seemed as if that was something that Shannon desperately wanted whereas Dean didn't. Having her cervix removed meant more to her than just that. Something he apparently couldn't understand as a man.

Dean sighed when she started crying even harder, knowing that all of this was his fault and that made him feel like a real piece of shit. He wished that for once he could control himself without freaking out and losing his mind. He needed to be there for her now when she needed him the most. He was such a jerk sometimes.

"I'm sorry, sweet cheeks. I didn't mean to yell at you. It...it just freaks me out that this is happening, you know? I don't want you to be sick. I need you...I can't lose you over this," he said, almost stuttering but in a calm tone now, trying to make her see this from his point of view.

They already had a beautiful baby boy. A child she thought she could never have after all she had been through in the past. Dylan was a real blessing, a miracle even. It wasn't her place to decide if she wanted to keep her uterus or not. This obviously was an emergency now and if they kept waiting for too long, it could have an ugly ending. Something both of them didn't even want to think about.

They were interrupted by both Dr Hanson and Dr Tenner re-entering the examination room, the frowns on their faces giving away that something was sincerely wrong.

"Emergency operation, right now..." was all Dr Tenner said, confirming their biggest fears.

Life was about to change now...that was for sure.


	7. Trouble, trouble, trouble

**I'm sooo worried about Roman and his "injury" after the match with Randy. I know there is speculation about him having a concussion but please pray for him (and me) that he's okay since I want to see him at a house show next week. PRAYER CIRCLE! That cut above his eye looked nasty...ouch. Poor guy.**

**Okay, I whined enough!**

**Enjoy & review the next chapter :)**

**...**

Chapter 7: Trouble, trouble, trouble

"Who are you texting?" Shannon asked weakly, the sedative pill the nurse had given her a few minutes ago now finally becoming effective.

"Roman. He probably wonders where we are. I hope he can keep Dylan overnight," Dean mumbled, eventually sending the text message after it took him endless minutes to write it before pushing his cell phone into the front pocket of his jeans.

"Why would he need to? You can pick him up later and take him back home," she said confused, wishing the pain she was experiencing would finally go away.

Dean looked at his girlfriend as if she had two heads, knowing that she was sedated already but didn't know it was that heavily.

"Do you really think I'm going to leave your side?" he asked, sighing when she still looked at him dumbfounded. "I'm gonna stay, sweet cheeks. No matter what. If I could, I would even hold your hand while you're having surgery. But I sure as hell will be here when you wake up afterwards."

If Shannon wasn't that exhausted and tired already, she probably would have started crying now. She was so touched by his words as well as the sincerity and love in his eyes that it made her heart melt.

"You don't have to," she whispered, looking at him teary-eyed while grabbing his hand, squeezing it tightly.

"But I want to," he whispered back, swallowing hard when he saw how weak the love of his life looked in this very moment, laying there in this hospital bed all pale and wiped out.

He wished he could take away all the pain. He would do anything in his power to stop the suffering and fear she was going through. Hell, he would even go under the knife for her if he could. But all he could do was to be there for her and that he would do. That was for sure.

"Miss O'Brien, we'll move you to the surgery room now," Dr Tenner interrupted the couple, Dean's heart heavy in his chest when he saw that Shannon seemed to be scared to death now that things were becoming serious.

"Can we have another minute, doc? I'll make it quick, I promise," Dean asked, looking at the doctor pleadingly and smiling at him when he nodded his head. "Thanks."

After the doctor had left the room again, he turned back to face Shannon, sitting on the edge of her bed before once again taking one of her hands into both of his, rubbing the back of it with his thumb in order to calm her down.

"As I said before, I'll be here when you wake up, ok? Everything's gonna be alright, I promise you that. All that matters now is that you get better. I don't care if you come outta there without a cervix. Fuck it, I wouldn't even care if you came outta there without boobs…and you know that I'm a breast man. Although I wish that wouldn't happen," he said, mumbling the last part which made her chuckle. "Anyways…all jokes aside, I just want you to know that I love you for who you are, Shannon. I know I'm not good with words and you're probably going to puke because of my cheesiness but I just wanted to remind you that you're my life and well…yeah…I'd better stop now. Just…uh…I love you."

She raised her free hand with all the strength she could come up with, cupping his cheek with a small smile on her face, a silent tear streaming down her face.

"You sound as if I might die," she chuckled, taking a deep breath when he wiped away the tear with his thumb. "But yeah…I love you too, weirdo."

"Here we go….that's how I like you, always cursing me," he said with a chuckle, bending down so that he could place sweet kisses first onto her forehead, then her nose and finally her lips, resting them there for several moments. "Be strong, sweet cheeks."

A knock on the door once again interrupted them, Dr Tenner and two nurses entering the room, none of them saying a word.

"Well, she's all yours, doc," Dean said, trying to lighten the mood but Shannon was obviously the only one in the room that understood his sense of humour.

He once again squeezed her hand before they wheeled the bed out of the room, leaving him behind, all alone with tons of thoughts running through his head. He prayed to God that she was going to be okay. And that was a statement considering that he didn't really believe in the big man up there in heaven. He couldn't stand the thought of losing Shannon. His love, his life, his everything.

It was that very moment that he knew that things needed to change. Right now.

**…**

It was more than half an hour later that Dean was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, his head in his hands, the painful expression on Shannon's face haunting him. Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours. And he felt so alone. That was until…

"Mind if we joined you?" a deep male voice asked, making him raise his head, his eyes wide when he realized who it was.

"What are you doing here?" he asked curiously, slowly getting up so that he could greet his friends properly.

Roman, Karolina, Seth and Maxine all hugged him tightly, giving him encouraging words to cheer him up as he seemingly and also understandably was incredibly worried about his girlfriend.

"Do you really think we would leave you alone now, bro?" Seth asked, patting his best friend's shoulder, giving him a small smile.

"But where are the kids?" Dean asked dumbfounded, only now realizing that they weren't even around.

"Sika and Patty are taking care of them now," Karolina answered, chuckling when Dean raised an eyebrow at her.

"All of them?" he asked, almost shrieking as he was surprised.

"All four of them," Maxine replied, giggling when Dean shook his head in disbelief.

"Your parents are one of a kind, Roman," he said with a smile, bumping fists with the big Samoan, silently thanking him and his parents for being so supportive. "I don't even know how to thank you all."

"Dean, we're your friends. There is no need to say thank you for something that goes without saying. We want to be here for you and I know you would do the same for me if it was Karolina in there," Roman said, the first one to sit down on one of the chairs, the others following shortly afterwards.

"I definitely would," he answered, running a shaky hand through his messy hair, knowing he needed to explain to his friend what was really going on. "So, apparently she has some kind of swelling around her cervix. I don't really know what all of this means but the doc said that if they don't remove it immediately, she wouldn't stop bleeding and the swellings might one day turn into a tumour. And from that moment on, we both knew that she didn't have a choice…"

There was an uncomfortable silence between them, all of them deeply lost in thought, trying to process what Dean had just told them.

"God, I don't even wanna think about how she must feel. Having your cervix removed must be one of the most horrible things…," Karolina said quietly, breaking the silence after what felt like an eternity.

"Yeah…it's like…you know…she can't have kids anymore. That's so devastating," Maxine added, gasping when she realized what she had said.

"She's talked to you about having another baby?" Dean asked curiously, noticing how Maxine and Karolina were telepathically talking to each other but he was having none of it. He needed to know. "Girls, spit it out!"

Maxine looked at Karo pleadingly, hoping that she would explain all of this as she was a lot closer to Dean than she was. Maybe that would ease the tension a little.

"She didn't PLAN on having another one but deep down she was hoping that one day you would decide to go for it again. After having Dylan she realized how wonderful it is to be a mother and I think she wanted at least one more," Karo told him, holding his hand in hers and squeezing it gently. "She wouldn't have forced it onto you or anything. It's just something she was dreaming about."

Dean swallowed hard after hearing this. He had decided for himself that he didn't want any more kids without having talked things through with her. He had no idea that her desire to have another baby was that big and now he felt even worse. She would wake up after that surgery without a uterus. She would never be able to have another baby again. And he now knew what she meant by saying she would not be a real woman anymore. She must feel as if a huge part of her was missing.

"Dylan told us this morning that he had a dream about Shannon being pregnant and giving him a baby brother," Dean said to no one in particular, staring at the floor, Karo's hand still in his. "It breaks my heart to know that he will never be a big brother. Never. How do I explain this to him when all of you have more than just one child? He will be all alone. He will have nobody."

"Let's not think about this yet," Seth said disapprovingly, sighing heavily when Dean scoffed mockingly. "Look, Karo is barely showing and won't be for a few more weeks if she keeps wearing Roman's awful shirts. We still have plenty of time to explain to Dylan and Leni what's going on. And speaking of that: Dylan will never be alone. Leni, Joan and Hayley are like sisters to him and you know it. And hey, if Roman and Karo have a little Fred, he will have a brother after all."

"He's NOT going to be called Fred," Roman and Karo said in unison, making everybody chuckle, even Dean.

"And leave Roman's shirts alone. I like them," Karo added, sniffling at them before moaning playfully, giggling to herself.

"You guys are nuts," Dean said, shaking his head with a weak smile on his face. "But that's exactly what I need right now."

"That's what we're here for, man," Seth stated, one arm wrapped around Maxine's shoulders, pulling her close. "Actually we…"

Seth wasn't even able to finish his sentence as all of a sudden the door to the waiting room was opened, Dr Tenner entering with a clipboard squeezed under his right arm. "Mr Ambrose, the surgery went very well. Your girlfriend is back in her room now and will wake up soon."

"Thanks doc," Dean breathed a sigh of relief, quickly making his way over to the doctor, shaking his hand firmly. "Thanks a lot."

Dr Tenner just smiled at the young man before nodding his head towards the others, as quickly leaving the room as he had entered it, giving the group of friends a few minutes to themselves.

"Well, I guess she will be pretty exhausted after all of this…," Dean mumbled, trailing off as he looked at his friends unsure.

"It's okay, handsome. I'm sure she needs some rest now. Call us if you need anything and give her a kiss from us, ok?" Karo asked, embracing Dean lovingly before kissing his cheek. "She will be okay again. And don't worry about Dylan. He can stay with us as long as you need him to."

He hugged each and every one of them tightly, thanking them for their constant support and the encouraging words they had giving him. Without them he would have been so lost.

"Trust me, it won't take long until you guys have another fight again. That will be the day you know she's fine again," Roman teased, patting his best friend's shoulder before leaving the room last, making Dean smirk.

**…**

It was later that day when Seth and Maxine put Joan and Hayley to bed after feeding them and changing their diapers. It had been a very long day and they were happy to finally have some peace for the rest of the night.

"God, that was exhausting. I don't even wanna know what Sika and Patty did with them to make them so fussy," Maxine sighed, snuggling closer to Seth who was lying next to her on their king-sized bed.

"Trust me, you really don't wanna know," Seth said with a chuckle, absentmindedly playing with her waist-long auburn hair he loved so much. "I wanna know something though."

Maxine moved her head so that her chin was resting on his well-toned chest, her eyes looking deep into his with curiosity reflecting in them. "And that would be?"

Seth took a deep breath, not even sure how to address this subject as it had never been an issue until this very day. But today everything had changed and he needed to talk things through with her before they ended up like Shannon and Dean.

"So…uhm…now that all of this happened to Shannon, and since this apparently is a huge thing for a woman, do you…well…do you plan on having another baby down the road someday?" he asked, brushing a strand of hair out of her face lovingly.

Maxine stared at him emotionless for a few moments, surprised that he would ask her that as she hadn't even thought about something like that after all. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to have another baby or not. And she also wasn't sure if the insecurity that shone through when Seth asked her that meant that he didn't want to have more children.

"I honestly don't know. Right now, I definitely would say no. Raising Joan and Hayley is a challenge, for both of us, and I'm not sure I could handle another one. But that might change one day, when they're older maybe, who knows? But the question also is: do you want another one?"

Just like his wife, Seth had never really thought about this subject. Having Joan and Hayley around didn't even give them the time to think about this at all. And now that he soon would go back to be on the road, that was out of question anyways.

"You know what? I think I feel the same way. Right now we have our hands full with the girls. But hey, we're still young. We can still have dozens of babies. I'm open to it," he said with a huge smile on his face.

"Dozens? Are you nuts? You already sound like Roman," she giggled, pinching his thigh which made him yelp.

"Well, I'm only joking, he on the other hand is serious about it," he laughed, taking the hand she had been pinching him with into his and slowly moving it in between his legs. "But how about we practise a little, sweetheart? I'm having some severe case of blue balls."

Seth didn't know what it was but for several weeks the sex between them had been awkward. He was satisfied and so was she, that was not the problem, but it confused him that it always happened with the lights turned off or hidden under a blanket. Not only that, but sex had come a rarity for them. It could be the stress with the kids, it could be that she simply wasn't as insatiable as he was, but deep down he had the feeling that there was more to it.

As suspected, she turned slightly to reach the light switch, wanting to darken the room once again but he was quick enough to grab her wrist and stop her from doing so. He wanted to see his beautiful wife and not only imagine how she looked like when she was writhing underneath him in pleasure.

"How about we leave the lights on this time?" he asked seductively, immediately claiming her lips so that she couldn't even answer, smiling to himself when she moaned into his mouth, their tongues passionately wrestling for dominance once she had parted her lips.

His hands started roaming her body, feeling up every inch of her, goosebumps covering her from head to toe. Her moans were music to his ears and the way she now stroked his erection through the thin fabric of his boxer briefs made him lose his mind. He didn't know how much longer he could keep going like this, his throbbing length almost aching painfully. He wanted and needed to be inside of her, to be united with her again on the most intimate level there was.

But when he grabbed the hem of her nightgown, wanting to push it upwards so that she could get out of it, she instantly tensed up and stopped him, making him pull back, a confused look on his face.

"What's wrong, angel?" he asked curiously, licking his now swollen lips, surprised when she didn't even answer but tried to get him out of his boxers as if she wanted to distract him.

And she was indeed successful. As soon as his hardened cock was released from the disturbing clothing, she wrapped her hand around it gently, kissing the tip of it and slowly licking off the precum that was oozing out of it, tasting the salty liquid.

Seth couldn't help but roughly grab her hair and push her onto him, her mouth absorbing his cock inch by inch until he hit the back of her throat, making her gag slightly. He wasn't forceful though, he never would be, but he knew how much Maxine could handle and he would immediately stop whenever she gave him a sign he was too hard on her.

"Oh yeah…suck that dick, baby," he moaned in ecstasy, watching her intently as her head was bobbing up and down on him, the way she looked at him almost sending him over the edge in an instant. "You want that cock inside your sweet little pussy, don't you? Yeah…that's what you want."

He thrust his hips up when she started massaging his balls at the same time, knowing that it would only take him a couple more minutes to cum if he wouldn't stop her right now. And he only wanted to cum inside of her, her walls tightening around him, milking him, squirting his hot seed deep inside of her.

"Stop, angel," he suddenly said, trying to catch his breath as he barely could contain himself, almost spurting his sperm into her mouth. "It's your turn now."

In one fell swoop, he had her pinned underneath him, kissing her lips softly while his hands were once again grabbing the hem of her nightgown. But just like before, she stopped him again.

"You don't need to. It's okay…I…I just want you to be inside of me," she stuttered, moving awkwardly to remove her panties without getting out of her gown, making Seth look at her suspiciously.

"What the fuck is going on here?" he asked annoyed, sensing that something was terribly wrong.

"What do you mean? I thought my man wanted to make love to me right now," she said sweetly, wrapping her hand around his cock once again but this time it was him who stopped her.

"Maxine, don't bullshit me. Why are you acting like this? I really thought I was imagining things but apparently I'm not. For weeks we've been fucking in the dark, you're constantly hiding under a blanket and I don't even get shower sex anymore. Now you don't want to get out of that freaking gown and you wanna tell me nothing's wrong?" he almost yelled, angry at her for acting like this and thinking he would buy it.

Maxine swallowed hard, closing her eyes tightly for a brief moment before pushing him off of her, wanting to get out of the bed but he stopped her.

"Stop it. Let go of me. I don't wanna talk about it," she snapped, trying to get him to let go of her but he simply wouldn't.

"I don't care if you don't wanna talk about it or not, we're going to discuss this now. Do you think I'm stupid?" he asked, quickly letting go of her hand so that he could get into his boxers again, his erection more or less gone again after all this drama.

"This isn't about you being stupid," she huffed, looking into the other direction when he sat down next to her on the edge of the bed.

"Then tell me what this is about. Obviously it's something that is bothering you, so why wouldn't you talk to me about it? Don't you trust me anymore? I'm your husband, for god's sake," he said, trying desperately not to lose his temper now.

"You wouldn't even understand," she whispered, not wanting to start crying in front of him as she knew that he wouldn't take her seriously if she told him.

"How would you know that? Just fucking tell me and we'll find a solution," he insisted, eventually losing his patience with her. She was so stubborn.

She remained silent for several minutes, not sure where and how she should start explaining to him what was depressing her so much. He was a man after all. How could he even sympathize with her?

"I feel so ugly," she eventually said, her voice almost a whisper. "Ever since Joan and Hayley were born, I wasn't even able to get back in shape. I know I've never been a supermodel, but what's underneath these clothes is disgusting me."

"Don't fucking continue with this crap. I don't even wanna hear it," he said angrily, not even given her a chance to further explain herself. "This is bullshit and you know it."

That was exactly what Maxine had been afraid of. He didn't understand. He had no idea what she was feeling, what she was going through. At the beginning, after the twins were born, it was normal that she was still a little chubby, the pounds she had gained during the pregnancy not vanishing just like that, and although she had lost weight again, her body had changed. To the worst, at least in her opinion.

"This is bullshit? IS IT?" she yelled, suddenly doing something she never thought she could have done but she really lifted up her nightgown, pushing it over her head and throwing it away aimlessly. "Look at me and tell me this is bullshit! Look at me and tell me that my boobs haven't backed down to gravity. Tell me I don't have all these stretchmarks. Fucking tell me this is BULLSHIT."

Seth hadn't expected her to yell at him like that, but when he saw how endless tears were streaming down her face now, he finally understood that this was bothering her so much that she wouldn't even feel confident enough to show herself to him, her husband, the man that loved her unconditionally. And that meant something.

"This is bullshit," he insisted, his voice a lot more calm and quiet now.

He slowly stood up to stand right in front of her, taking her hands into his and squeezing them gently.

"It's not," she sniffled, not even being able to look into his eyes anymore. She felt so ashamed, so humiliated.

"Look at me, Maxine," he pleaded softly, feeling horrible for having barked at her like that but he was at the end of the rope with everything that had happened that day. "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life and I really mean it. Of course your body has changed. You've carried my baby girls in there for more than 8 months and I couldn't thank you enough for that. I love you the way you are, stretchmarks or not, who cares about them? I don't. I just wished you would have talked to me about it."

The disappointment in his voice didn't go unnoticed by her but she couldn't even feel sorry for him right now when she only wanted to pity herself.

"I've already seen a plastic surgeon. I want to have my breasts done," she informed him out of nowhere, not surprised when he looked at her wide-eyed.

"You what?" he asked dumbfounded, not believing what he was hearing. "You sure as hell are not."

"I will, Seth. I have to. I'm sorry..." she said sadly, making him let go of her hands so that she could leave the bedroom without saying another word, making him scream out loud in anger.

When would things finally calm down again?


	8. A significant confession

**I'm sooo excited for the House Show on Thursday that I can't think straight anymore. This will be one of the best birthdays ever!**

**Enjoy & review, my beautiful people :)**

**...**

Chapter 8: A significant confession

_*Meet me at the beach at 7am. You know where to find me. I need you, Karolina. I really need your help. Seth xx*_

Karo read the text message she had received a minute ago over and over again, a look of concern on her face.

"What's wrong, babygirl?" Roman asked when he entered the bedroom, worried when he noticed how anxious his wife seemed to be, always afraid that something was wrong with her and the baby.

"I just received a really weird text message from Seth," Karo simply said, handing her phone to Roman when he sat down next to her on the bed, letting him read what their best friend had texted her.

"He wants to meet you at the beach that early?" he asked, not even caring about that part that said that she knew where to find him, knowing that they had a special place where they would meet if they wanted to spend some alone time, finally able to trust them again without becoming suspicious.

"That's strange. I hope he's alright. You think I should call him?" she asked, a frown on her face.

"It's late, babygirl. I think he would have called if it was that important. You'd better get some sleep if you need to be up so early," he said with a smile, kissing her forehead softly before pulling a blanket over both of their bodies.

"Will you be okay with Leni and Dylan all by yourself?" she dared to ask, knowing that both kids might be up early, needing Roman's attention and help with getting dressed and eating breakfast.

"Of course I will be. I have to get used to having two kids around anyways, don't I?" he teased, placing a hand onto her slightly swollen belly, letting her know that he meant their baby.

"I can't believe that in about 6 months we're going to be complete," she whispered, covering his hand with hers, a huge smile on her face. "I just wish Joshua was here as well."

"He is, babygirl. In our hearts, always," he whispered back, kissing her lips softly. "Now stop worrying and get some sleep. And don't even think about sex, young lady. I'm drained."

Karolina couldn't help but giggle, knowing that her constant need for sex was wiping him out, but she had no control over her hormones anymore. Normally he wouldn't complain, but this time around, her sexual desire didn't know any boundaries.

**...**

It was very early the next morning when Karo made her way to the special place Seth and her called their little getaway place for when they needed some best-friends-quality time.

She had trouble sleeping the night before, always worrying about Seth and what he needed her help with. Whenever he was texting her that late she knew that something was terribly wrong.

"Hi there," she said quietly when she saw him sitting in the sand, leaning against the big rock with his back, interrupting his thoughts as he was staring into the depths of the ocean, the sun just rising on the horizon.

"Hey sweetheart. Glad you could make it that early," he said, offering her a weak smile while extending his hand to her, helping her to sit down next to him.

"Anytime, handsome. Sorry for not wearing any make-up though. I was too lazy and tired to put some one," she giggled as a way of trying to lighten the mood, avoiding his gaze when she knew he would examine her face now.

"I prefer you like that anyways. You're a natural beauty," he complimented, making her blush slightly.

There was a comfortable silence between them, both of them listening to the waves that were hitting the shore, the birds singing beautiful melodies, saying goodbye to the dark night and welcoming the new day.

In silence Seth took Karo's hand into his, squeezing it gently while still staring into space, not even glancing at her, just happy that she was with him in that very moment. He looked exhausted. Sad even. And that worried her so much that she couldn't keep waiting any longer.

"What's bothering you, Sethie?" she asked quietly, her voice almost a whisper.

Seth took a deep breath, sighing heavily before finally turning towards her so that he could face her properly. He had dark bags under his eyes, probably not having slept a lot the night before which broke her heart.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can take this," he simply said, the devastation clearly shining through in the way he had said those words. "Maxine is driving me insane. I've tried everything in my power to make her happy but it just doesn't seem to be enough. I'm not sure it will ever be enough. You know I fell in love with her the minute I saw her, but I'm starting to believe that love isn't enough for a relationship...well...for a marriage to work."

Karolina didn't know what to say. She knew that Maxine and Seth had a lot of trouble once in a while but Seth had never seemed so desperate as he did now and that was something that alerted her.

"But what happened?" she asked with concern reflecting in her eyes, the pained expression on his face hurting her.

"It actually started with something really trivial. Trivial as in sex. Things have been awkward between us for quite a while now but I kept trying to convince myself that I was just seeing things. Yesterday it blew up. She kept hiding herself from me and I just wanted to know what was wrong. And you know what's bothering her? Her fucking body! She keeps complaining about how awful and disgusting she looks, how she's not desirable anymore and..." he explained but was quickly interrupted by his best friend when she shyly raised her free hand.

"Well, I have to say I can relate somehow. After having a baby, in her case two at once, you feel really bad about yourself. Your skin feels and looks like jelly, your boobs don't seem to be in place anymore, and every girl around you looks so sexy in your eyes that you're starting to doubt yourself. She needs your support, Seth. And you...," she said, this time being interrupted by him when he cut her off midsentence.

"I keep supporting her. I tell her over and over again how beautiful and sexy she is. How I love her the way she is, that she's the only one for me. But there's only so much I can do. Telling me that she met a plastic surgeon behind my back feels like betrayal," he admitted, running a shaky hand through his messy hair that for once wasn't held back in a ponytail.

"She went to see a plastic surgeon?" she asked dumbfounded, not believing her ears.

"You didn't know? I thought you girls talked about stuff like that," he replied, looking at her with a frown on his face.

"I would have told you if I had known," she mumbled, shaking her head in disbelief.

She knew how it felt to feel that way. Most of the times she hated her body. She was very self-conscious, especially after giving birth to two children, but it was Roman who convinced her over and over again how perfect she was in his eyes. That was the support she needed, but it seemed as if this wasn't something Maxine could handle.

"I'm not happy anymore, Karolina," he said truthfully, looking at her teary-eyed. "I don't want this anymore. The constant fighting, the lack of trust...my heart can't take this anymore."

It was the moment when her best friend literally threw himself into her arms, finally letting the tears that he had tried so hard to suppress to let go, that she was starting to get mad. Mad at Maxine for hurting him like that, for breaking his heart. Seth was one of the most amazing people she had ever met in her life and he deserved all the happiness in the world. Something that his wife was clearly taking away from him and she wouldn't let that happen.

"What did I do to deserve this?" he sniffled, not being ashamed to cry, knowing that Karo would never judge him.

"Hush now. You didn't do anything wrong. You're wonderful, Seth. She just doesn't seem to realize that," she whispered into his ear, kissing his cheek softly.

Karo knew that she had broken Seth's heart before, even if she had done it involuntarily. But that only encouraged her to stop Maxine from doing so as well. Even if it was the last thing she would do...

**...**

After Karo had sent Seth to Roman, telling him that she would go and have a chat with Maxine, she was now standing in front of the Rollins house, not sure if it was too early to ring the bell but knowing Joan and Hayley, they probably were awake already.

"Karo...what...what are you doing here?" Maxine asked unsure after opening the door, noticing the mad expression on Karo's face.

"Would you let me in?" she countered, looking at Maxi expectantly, passing her quickly when she stepped aside, letting her enter.

Karo immediately made her way into the living room, a smile spreading across her face when she saw the two little girls on their baby blanket on the floor, playing with their teething rattles, making funny noises.

"Hey my little beauties, did you sleep well?" she cooed, now on her knees in front of them, caressing their stomachs which made them giggle.

"Did you come here to see the twins?" Maxine asked curiously, having noticed that Seth wasn't home when he said he would be sleeping on the couch. Now that he was nowhere to be found, she knew that he probably went to see Karo.

"No, I'm just here to warn you," she retorted, getting up again so that she could look her friend dead in the eye. "I'm so sick of this Maxine. Stop hurting him or it's gonna get ugly."

Normally Karolina wasn't the kind of person to threaten others, but when it came to her family, something she clearly defined Seth as, then she saw red and it didn't matter who would be on the receiving end of her wrath.

"Are you threatening me now? You don't even know what's going on between us," the auburn-haired woman said calmly, not letting Karo's words get to her.

"And I don't care. All I know is that my best friend is suffering and I'm not letting that happen," she countered, becoming furious when Maxine just left the room, quickly following her into the kitchen where she watched her make some coffee. "Don't you have anything to say to this?"

"Do you want some coffee?" she asked in return, ignoring the question of her German friend, knowing that she was driving her insane but she honestly wasn't looking for a fight. She needed to talk about this in peace.

"Really Maxine?" she asked dumbfounded, shaking her head in disbelief when her best friend's wife handed her a cup of the hot beverage, with her head motioning to her to sit down.

"Can we talk about this like adults? Without threatening each other? Without the kids seeing this?" she asked in a calm voice, sipping at her coffee cautiously.

Karo just nodded her head in defeat, sitting down on one of the barstools before taking a sip herself, curious about what Maxine wanted to tell her now that she silently admitted that she wanted to talk.

"I've been the worst wife a man could ask for. I know that. I wish I could turn back time and start all over again, but unfortunately I can't. Things with me and Seth happened so quickly. I was so hesitant to date him in the first place and only a couple of months later I was pregnant with twins. Buying the house, marrying him, having the girls...these were a lot of changes I didn't really have the time to comprehend. Look, I know you and Roman started off the same way. You also were pregnant rather quickly, but things with you and Roman just seem to fall into place," Maxine started to explain, relieved that Karo was indeed listening to her instead of fighting.

"Roman and I lost a baby. I'm not sure you could say that things fall into place," she said quite sadly, not wanting to interrupt Maxine but she considered it was important to mention that her relationship with Roman wasn't always all sunshine and roses.

"I know. And I can't even imagine how this must feel like," she replied, sitting down across from Karo on another barstool. "I don't deserve Seth. Not at all. But I love him with all my heart."

"Why do you keep treating him like a piece of shit then?" she asked puzzled, trying to understand where Maxine was coming from but she was very hard to read.

"I wish I knew. I'm really not doing it on purpose. I think I'm just so mad at myself for behaving like that, for looking the way I do. I know I can't always blame the past for the things I do today, but I'm just afraid of failing. I don't wanna lose him, Karolina. I want and need him in my life, I want to look beautiful for him. But I know that with the way I'm acting that I'm pushing him further away. I wish there was something I could do about it," she sighed, running a shaky hand through her hair, taking another sip of her coffee.

Karo remained silent for a minute, letting all of this sink in. She knew that Maxine had been treated very badly in the past, not physically but mentally, and she was still suffering from it today. But Seth had been nothing but good to her and she needed to understand that he loved her unconditionally and would never hurt her.

"You treat him just how you've been treated in the past. I don't wanna say you're abusing him mentally, but he's at the end of his rope. He's not happy anymore. He told me so," Karo said truthfully, wanting to make her understand just how serious this was.

"What can I do to make him happy again?" Maxine asked no one in particular, almost in a whisper, tears forming in her eyes.

"Just be the woman he fell in love with. It's just that easy, Maxi," Karo said, no more anger in her voice, but maybe even a little sympathy.

The room fell silent once again, the only sounds audible Maxine's sobs that were now escaping her lips. Karo sighed heavily, hopping off of the barstool and closing the distance to her friend, wrapping her arms around her tightly.

"Shh, don't cry, sweetie. We'll make this work again," she tried to soothe, caressing her auburn hair while rocking her from one side to the other gently.

"Can I trust you with something, Karo?" Maxine asked after a few minutes, sniffling a little now that the tears were slowly stopping to stream down her face.

"You can trust me with anything, honey," she replied truthfully, knowing that as much as she loved Seth, she would never let Maxine down.

Maxine swallowed hard, closing her eyes for a brief moment before locking her eyes with the blue ones of her friend, finally working up the courage to reveal what she had been hiding from everyone for a very long time.

"I suffer from depression, Karo. And I don't mean in the sense of feeling down once in a while. I'm not the strong, self-confident woman everybody thinks I am. Quite the contrary. I've never told Seth about it. I haven't had the chance to see my therapist ever since he's home with us after the twins were born, not giving me the possibility to pick up my medication. I think that might be the reason why I'm being such a bitch," Maxine explained, taking a deep breath when Karo looked at her shocked. "You probably think I'm crazy right now, and I can't even blame you. I've never told anyone because I know that society says you're weak."

"It's not a weakness, Maxi," she replied quietly, her heart breaking for her friend after what she had just been told.

"Lemme show you something," she said, rolling up the sleeves of her sweatshirt, showing off her wrist tattoo. "Take a close look at that."

Karo took her wrist into one of her hands, examining the tattoo very closely, gasping when she realized what her friend was trying to show her. "Oh my God..."

"Yeah...I know. I'm not really proud of having tried to commit suicide, so I wanted the scar to get tattooed up," she admitted, looking at the ground ashamed.

"Why did you do it?" Karo asked curiously, letting go of her friend's arm before lifting her chin with her index finger, making her look her in the eyes.

"After things with my ex-boyfriend ended, I was so devastated. I was so dependent on him, he was my whole life. And when we were done, it felt as if my life wasn't worth living anymore. I was nothing and nobody without him. I didn't want to live in this world anymore."

It was an understatement to say that Karolina was shocked. She knew about Maxine's past when it came to her ex-boyfriend, but she had no idea just how horrible things must have been for her deep inside. She was ashamed of telling Seth or her friends that she was suffering from depression because she was afraid to be judged. She had been fighting this on her own while taking care of twins and trying to make her husband happy.

"You should have told Seth. From the very beginning," Karo stated, once again wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulder, pulling her close.

"I just couldn't. I didn't want to lose him," Maxine replied, the tears once again streaming down her face. "I love him so much that I'm not sure I could make it without him. I need my medication. It will help me to control my feelings. I'm not hurting him on purpose...please believe me."

Maxine sounded helpless and scared, almost silently pleading her friend to support her and not to give up on her.

"We'll get you your medication, sweetie. I promise you we will. But you need to tell Seth. Make him understand what you are feeling deep inside. He will know why you are acting like you do. He would never judge you," Karo insisted, running a hand through her friend's auburn hair, looking at her sympathetically.

Just then they heard the front door open, the screams of Leni and Dylan echoing through the house, letting Maxine and Karo know that Seth and Roman had just arrived.

"Be careful with the babies," they heard Roman say, knowing that Dylan was a little too clumsy when it came to the little girls, just like his daddy was.

The footsteps came closer and closer to the kitchen, making Maxine very nervous as she knew she would have to face Seth again. She had no idea what to expect, she simply didn't know how to tell her husband that she had been lying to him for years. She felt horrible.

When Seth saw the tears that were falling down his wife's cheeks, he abruptly stopped in the doorway to the kitchen, not sure what all of this had to mean. He looked at Karo with curiosity, seeing how her eyes were reflecting worry and sadness.

"Go in," Roman said quietly, giving his best friend a shove, almost making him tumble.

Seth moved closer to Maxine and Karo, a dumbfounded expression on his face. But he couldn't find the right words to say, rendered speechless.

"Seth, I think Maxine needs to tell you something," Karo said in a whisper, gently letting go of her friend so that Seth could step in front of her.

In silence he took her hand into his, squeezing it softly. He should be mad at her for treating him like a piece of shit, but seeing her like this now, he simply couldn't. His heart was heavy in his chest, his guts telling him that something was incredibly wrong.

"Seth," Maxine breathed, once again looking down at the ground, not being able to look him in the eye. "I'm so sorry."

She couldn't help but break down crying again, her body shaking with sobs when Seth pulled her into a hug, not wanting to let go of her ever again.

"What are you sorry for?" he asked concerned, not even realizing that Karo and Roman had left the room to look after the kids.

Maxine didn't even know where to start. She was still afraid and even ashamed about what she had been keeping to herself. She was a liar. She was a horrible person for doing this to Seth when all he tried was to make her happy.

"I'm sorry for not telling you that I'm suffering from depression. I'm sorry for treating you like a piece of shit when all you deserved was my love and support. A year before I met you, I tried to commit suicide," she started to explain, not holding anything back anymore, now showing him her tattoo which normally he wouldn't pay close attention to. But now that he saw that the ink was hiding a scar, he was incredibly shocked. "I knew I needed help back then and so I went to see a therapist. I've been on medication ever since, and that really helped me a lot. But I haven't had the chance to see my doctor nor get my pills, so that's why I turned into that self-conscious woman that feels like a worthless, ugly piece of shit."

"Why haven't you told me?" Seth simply asked, not once letting go of her. He didn't want to give her a feeling that she was alone.

"I know I should have. I feel horrible for keeping this away from you. I should have trusted you, should have let you help me with all of this. But I was too embarrassed. Nobody really knows, Seth. Nobody. I don't want people to pity me. It still is a taboo in society, it's a weakness. And when I realized that I fell in love with you, the moment I knew I was able to fully trust you, I was afraid of losing you should I tell you about it," she kept explaining, feeling incredibly stupid for all of this.

Maxine waited for Seth to react, but his chocolate brown eyes just stared into her light green ones, a tension almost tangible in the air. Seth didn't know how to process what he had just been told. He would lie if he said he wasn't disappointed that she didn't trust him enough to tell him about her illness. He was sad that she thought he would have left her if he knew. But all of that didn't matter right now. All that mattered was that the woman in front of him broke down in front of him. She was weak, exhausted and scared. All she needed was his support.

"I love you, Maxine," he suddenly whispered, cupping her face with both of his hands, placing his lips onto hers, giving her a sweet kiss. "I love you with all my heart. You really should have told me but it doesn't matter now. I'm here for you, no matter what. I'll bring you to your doctor, I will make sure you will get your medication. We'll make it through this. Just...trust me, ok?"

Maxine had no idea how she deserved this man. He had all the right in the world to kick her out of his house, his heart, his life. But he was offering her his support. After all she had done to him, the constant fighting, always shutting him out, blaming him for everything that went wrong, he still stood by her side.

"I'm so sorry," she repeated, looking at him teary-eyed. "You have no idea how sorry I am."

"Shh, stop apologizing now. It's not your fault. Let's start all over again," he encouraged her, even giving her a weak smile to let her know that he indeed wasn't mad.

He was relieved to know why his wife was acting the way she was, but at the same time it hurt him that she had to suffer so much.

But things would change now. He would help her to get back on her feet, and together they could save their marriage and their love. Things finally needed to get better again.


	9. Little accidents and a reunion

**I'm soooo sorry for keeping you waiting for a new chapter for so long, but with my birthday last week and finally meeting our boys, I was really busy. Yes, you heard me: I MET THE BOYS. Ahhh! I love these boys. They're even more handsome in real life than on TV, I swear to God.**

**Enough of that now:**

**Please enjoy & review :)**

**...**

Chapter 9: Little accidents and a reunion

Karolina was staring at the ceiling when Roman entered their bedroom the same evening after bringing Leni and Dylan to bed, a sad expression on her face which immediately made him worry as he was always overprotective when it came to her and their baby.

"Are you okay, babygirl?" he immediately asked, quickly pushing his shirt over his head and throwing it onto the armchair in the corner of the room mindlessly, his gym shorts following shortly afterwards. "You look like something is bothering you."

Karo sighed heavily, closing her eyes tightly for a brief moment before opening them again, getting lost in his own. "There is a lot that's bothering me right now. These last few days have been crazy and I don't know whether I'm coming or going. First Shannon needs to have emergency surgery, then Seth is about to leave Maxine only for her to reveal that she's been suffering from depression for countless years. What's next?"

She wasn't really expecting any kind of answer because she knew there was none. Life was a rollercoaster and right now it seemed like it was going vertical down. Unfortunately.

Roman swallowed hard, knowing his wife like the back of his hand. He knew that not only was this heavy on her heart, but the fact that she more or less threatened Maxine when all their friend needed was a shoulder to cry on.

"Don't beat up yourself for wanting to protect your best friend. Seth was hurting and you only wanted to help. I probably would have done the same if I were you. You couldn't know what was really going on. Nobody could, not even Seth. So stop blaming yourself. This will only stress you and our little muffin out. And I'm having none of that, you know that," he admonished, raising an eyebrow in surprise when she started to giggle.

"Muffin?" she asked with a chuckle, placing a hand over her stomach when he joined her on the bed.

"Well, we had cookie, then munchkin…I thought muffin was just as suitable," he replied with a small smile, loving when he could easily make her mood change so quickly. There were indeed good things about a pregnancy as well.

But as quickly as her mood changed from bad to good, it just as fast changed back to the opposite again.

"What's wrong now?" he asked with a frown when she took a deep breath, her eyes now filled with tears.

"I need to apologize to her. I'm a horrible person for doing this. I'm a shitty friend," she sobbed, her heart breaking in her chest when she thought about the way she confronted Maxine earlier that day.

"You are not," Roman insisted slightly annoyed, sighing heavily while wrapping an arm around her shoulders gently, both of them leaning against the headboard of their bed with their backs. "You were trying to be a good friend to Seth. That is all."

He knew there was no way in fighting with her about this, so he simply decided to let her cry. Her hormones and emotions were all over the place and there was nothing he could really do but to be there for her. He hated to see her cry but she needed to let it all out or else she would bottle things up which would make things even worse.

They sat in each other's embrace for endless minutes, just enjoying the other person's presence which was comforting to them both. Roman would lie if he said he wasn't afraid. Afraid of what was going to happen, what might come next. It seemed that him and Karo were the only ones without any kind of drama in their relationship at the moment and with him being superstitious, he was afraid that something bad would come their way very soon. They were next.

"Talk to me should you ever feel unhappy with me or our marriage," Roman suddenly said, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

Ever since the incident between Karo and Seth many years ago, Roman had become a little self-conscious. He was afraid of losing her, of doing something wrong and making her leave him. He still sometimes asked himself why things happened the way they did. In his opinion there was always a reason for someone to cheat on their respective other. And he still wished he knew why it happened but he kept trying to push the thought away and continue with his life. Roman was an incredibly good-looking guy. He was smart, caring and very sweet-natured. There was no reason for him to be so insecure but he just couldn't help but feel like this when couple after couple around them was breaking up or getting divorced. It was common practice when you were involved in the wrestling business. It was sad but true.

"I'm very happy with you, Roman," Karo said quietly, turning slightly so that she could look into his eyes, the worry that was reflecting in his own breaking her heart. "I'm blessed to have you in my life. I'll never let you go again."

Karo swallowed hard when her husband simply nodded his head, seemingly not convinced by her words. Now that she was on such an emotional trip, she realized that she hadn't told him just how important he was to her in a long time.

"It's funny how you are always that one guy that is our shoulder to cry on. The one that always puts others first only to make them happy. We take it for granted and that's just not fair," she started, licking her suddenly very dry lips nervously before moving cautiously so that she could sit on his lap, straddling him. "I want you to know that I'm thankful for everything you do for us…for me. I don't know where I would be today if it wasn't for you. Whenever the world is crashing down around me, you are there to pick me up. You put up with my crazy pregnant ass – although it's your fault you knocked me up for the third time already -, always suffering from my wrath when once again my mood changes in a matter of seconds but you would never complain. You are the best husband a woman could ask for and the best daddy our little girl could dream of. We both love you unconditionally which I should really tell you more often. Don't ever doubt my love for you, baby. You're my everything."

Although Karo wasn't done talking yet, Roman didn't even give her a chance to finish declaring her love to him, pressing his lips onto hers softly, pulling her body even closer to his.

He was overwhelmed by his feelings, unbelievably happy about his wife's words. It made his heart swell to hear how much she loved him. And although he never doubted her love for him, he was relieved to hear just how important he was to her.

"I love you, Karolina. More than you will ever know," he whispered against her lips, his hands now resting on her behind, squeezing softly.

He could happily fall asleep in her arms now, forgetting about the world around them, just enjoying having her so close to him. But as soon as she started grinding him, he knew that she wouldn't let him get some sleep so easily.

Her sex drive in this third pregnancy was ridiculously high. Higher than it had ever been before. And Roman was visibly drained. Not only did she need sex once a day, no, sometimes she even needed it twice and that was more than her husband could give her.

"Are you horny again?" he asked with a chuckle, licking his lips when she rubbed her still clothed mound against his boxer briefs-clad crotch, a moan escaping his lips. "I take this as a yes."

He had no idea just how hungry his wife was for him, but when she all of a sudden got rid of her nightgown in one fell swoop, he knew that she was dead serious about this.

"I want you," she panted, taking one of his hands into hers and guiding it in between her legs where she pushed her panties to the side with her free hand, letting him rub her clit after she had exposed herself to him.

"Shit…you're soaking wet, babygirl," he hissed, the tent in his boxer briefs becoming bigger and bigger with each second passing by.

He had no idea how she did it, but no matter how tired or exhausted he was, she was able to make his dick hard and he couldn't even do anything about it. Not that he wanted to though.

He watched her in surprise when she got off of his lap, moving backwards slightly so that she was now kneeling in between his thighs, a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Let me make you feel good, baby," she whispered in a husky voice, biting her bottom lip seductively while slowly pushing down his boxers over his legs, throwing them away aimlessly afterwards.

The way she was talking and the way she was looking at him with those lust-filled eyes made his whole body shiver, triggering something off inside of him that he had never felt before.

A familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach surprised him the moment she wrapped her hand around his shaft, stroking him agonizingly slow, up and down, up and down. He wanted to stop her when she bent down to let her lips engulf the head of his throbbing length but he didn't even have the chance to when out of nowhere he erupted all over her face, his cum covering her completely, some of it spurting into her mouth that will still slightly open.

Roman looked at his wife in shock, a deep crimson blush on his cheeks when he saw the mess he had created.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, babygirl," he quickly said, looking around nervously to see if there was something he could use to wipe her face off.

He swiftly jumped out of the bed and without saying another word ran out of the room, leaving behind a very dumbfounded and astonished Karolina who didn't even know what had just happened.

Not even a minute later, Roman re-entered the bedroom with a warm washcloth in his hand, sitting down on the bed in front of her, a slightly embarrassed look on his face.

He started cleaning her face in silence, making sure that no more cum was left on her face, overly cautious when he ran the washcloth over her eyes which she had closed tightly.

"You could have told me if you wanted to do that again. You know I'm okay with you acting out your fantasies," Karolina said with a soft chuckle in order to break the silence, bringing up that one time when they watched each other pleasuring themselves. "That was quite surprising."

She immediately stopped chuckling when she realized just how tensed up Roman seemed to be, his lips in a thin line.

"Are you okay, baby?" she asked concerned when he remained silent, taking the washcloth away from him when he kept cleaning her up although she could fell that her face was fine again.

"I didn't do it on purpose," he said with a heavy sigh, not being able to look her in the eyes. "I just…came."

Karolina tried to make eye contact with him but he kept staring at the ceiling, his whole body stiff and sort of tense. She took a deep breath before raising both of her hands to cup his face, finally making him look at her, insecurity reflecting in his eyes. "It's all good. Things like that happen. Maybe I over exerted you with my constant need for sex."

"But then again I shouldn't even be able to get a boner in this case, right?" he more stated than asked, never having experienced anything like that before. He had always been able to perform, no matter what, and this was the very first time something like that happened to him. And he had no idea how to deal with that.

"It doesn't even matter, baby. We've had an exhausting and challenging day. Maybe we should just get some rest and try again tomorrow," she said with a small smile on her face, kissing his lips sweetly.

"Or the day after…or the day after that," he mumbled against her lips while chuckling, making her giggle softly.

He was a man after all. And sometimes even the best lover was having a bad day. He really shouldn't think about it too much. Maybe a little sleep would help him get his strength back.

**…**

Maxine watched Seth as he joined her in the living room, her eyes never leaving him until he sat down next to her on the couch, grabbing the remote to turn off the TV. They both knew they finally needed to talk.

"Are they sleeping already?" she asked almost shyly, looking at him expectantly and relaxing when he nodded his head with a smile.

"They're out cold. Having Dylan and Leni around all day probably wore them out," he replied with a chuckle, remembering how Leni was trying to brush Joan's almost non-existent hair while Dylan wanted to feed Hayley M&Ms.

"Thank you," she said quietly, immediately breaking the eye-contact so that she could stare at her hands which were folded in her lap, feeling slightly uncomfortable in his presence after all that had happened that day.

"Don't thank me for anything that goes without saying, angel," he answered immediately, turning slightly so that he was now facing her, raising his right hand so that he could lift her chin with his index finger, making her look at him. "Why haven't you told me, beautiful?"

Maxine sighed heavily, closing her eyes tightly for a brief moment before opening them again, tears filling them now. But she didn't want to cry again. She couldn't help but still have the feeling of needing to be strong in front of him. It was some kind of mechanism she had learned to live with and she had a hard time letting it go now that she was so used to it.

"I didn't want to lose you," she simply said, a single tear now escaping her eye. "I was afraid you would run."

Seth swallowed hard, his heart heavy in his chest when he realized just how sad and desperate his wife seemed to be. He felt guilty for not realizing what was really going on all these years. He was about to leave her for good if she hadn't told him that day. It was eating him alive.

"Maxine, why would I do something like that? I love you. You suffering from depression wouldn't change that. It never will. I wish I would have known. Things would have been so much easier for both of us, and for the girls as well," he started, wiping away the tears that were now streaming down her face with his thumb. "Please promise me to never be afraid again of telling me something. You can trust me with anything, no matter what it is. I can only help you when you're honest with me, angel. But you know what? Let's not relive all of this all over again. I know it hurts you and I don't want you to feel that way. We'll get you help. You're gonna call your therapist tomorrow and tell him we're coming over. Tell him you need your medication and that it's urgent. I don't give a damn if he's busy or not. I'll pay him whatever he wants me to if only you are happy again."

A small smile spread across Maxine's face, the sincerity in her husband's words making her heart swell in her chest. She was so close to losing him and now here he was, by her side, supporting her as much as he could although she had been lying to him for years.

"Thank you, Seth," she whispered almost inaudibly, covering his hand that was now cupping her cheek with one of hers, placing a kiss on the palm of it. "I love you so much. I'm so sorry for doing this to you."

"Shh, stop apologizing now. It's gonna be alright, I promise you that," he whispered back, moving forward slowly so that they were only mere inches apart from each other.

He looked deep into her light green eyes, licking his dry lips nervously before placing them onto hers, kissing her sweetly. He loved this woman with all his heart. And he would never let her go again. Yes, he had wanted to end things with her this morning. He had been sick and tired of her shit, exhausted by the constant fighting between them. But now that he knew that she wasn't necessarily doing this on purpose, but that it was her illness making her act like that, he fell in love with her all over again.

Not only did she need him in her life, he needed her as well. More than anything in this world.

**…**

"WELCOME HOME," they all yelled simultaneously, making Shannon yelp in shock when she realized that all her friends had been waiting for her in their house.

After a few days of staying in the hospital, she was finally able to go back home again. She had no idea that Dean urged the doctors to let her go, sick of spending his days and nights in a hospital as he refused to leave her side.

"Mommy mommy mommy," Dylan shrieked, running towards his mother excitedly, screaming when his father caught him just in time before he was able to jump at Shannon.

"Be careful, partner. Mommy is still a little hurt. She can't carry you at the moment, son," he explained to his little boy, chuckling when he pouted his lips just like he always did.

"But I missed mommy," he mumbled, becoming fussy in Dean's arm, trying to climb over to his mother who was standing next to them.

"I missed you too, boo," she said with a happy smile on her face, bending over so that she could place dozens of kisses onto his small face, making him giggle. "It's good to be back home."

"Auntie Shannon," a tiny voice said out of nowhere, little Leni now standing in front of Shannon, pulling at her pants. "Is Uncle Dean happy again now?"

"Was he sad, sweetheart?" Shannon asked curiously, unfortunately not being able to kneel down so that she was eye-level with Roman and Karolina's daughter, but she was sure the little girl didn't mind.

"Yes. He looked like a puppy," she replied, making everybody in the room laugh heartily.

"Your daughter is just like you, Reigns. Always able to see through people. It's actually kinda scary," Dean mumbled, rolling his eyes annoyed before letting Dylan down, knowing that he wanted to play with his cousin.

"Pizza anyone?" Karolina suddenly yelled, waving with the menu of their local pizza delivery service, once again hungry.

"I swear to God, you're constantly eating, woman," Roman teased, yelping when his wife swatted his chest, almost about to cry when she took it the wrong way, thinking Roman thought she was fat but he was quick enough to save his own ass. "But you're eating for two, so that's ABSOLUTELY understandable."

Ignoring the two bickering at each other, Seth made his way over to Shannon, cautiously wrapping his arms around her before placing a kiss on her temple. "It's good to have you back here with us. There definitely was something missing."

"Thank you, Seth. I'm happy to have you all here with me right now. I really needed this," she said quietly, trying her hardest to suppress the tears that were once again building in her eyes.

She was having a hard time accepting that she now had to live without a cervix. The thought of never being able to have another baby again was hurting her terribly. She never really talked to Dean about it that much, knowing that they both weren't ready to talk about it just yet, but it was always in the back of her mind and there was nothing she could do about it.

"May I?" Roman asked in his deep baritone voice, making Seth let go of their common best friend gently, fist-bumping his buddy with a small smile on his face before leaving the two of them alone.

"God Shannon, you scared the living shit outta me," he admonished playfully, chuckling a little before kissing her forehead softly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders tightly, pulling her close. "Never do this to me again or I'll have Dean spank your ass."

"I might like that," she quickly retorted, making both of them burst out laughing.

"I was afraid you would," Roman replied, stepping out of the embrace shortly afterwards, both of his hands now cupping her face. "We really missed you, babe. I'm glad you're not in pain anymore. And maybe now Dean finally stops being a whiny bitch. God, that dude was texting me every fucking hour about how much he hates seeing you lying in that hospital bed and that he wants to bring you home. It was quite annoying."

"Hey, you would have done the same would this have been Karo," Dean yelled from the living room where he was providing everybody with something to drink.

Arm in arm Shannon and Roman followed everybody into the living room, a smile gracing her face when she saw how Leni and Dylan were playing with their toys while laughing heartily and how peacefully Joan and Hayley were sleeping in their strollers, both of them looking like angels.

"Ahhh Shan, life without you is terrible. I'm sooo happy that you're back," Karo said with a mouth full of chocolate, throwing her arms around her best friend lovingly. "I love you, my sister from another mister."

Shannon couldn't help but burst out laughing, amused by her emotional friend that seemingly was in her horny, hungry and mood-changing phase of her pregnancy.

"I love you too, you dumbass," she replied, letting go of Karo only to slightly lift her friend's shirt, smiling at her. "How's the little one doing?"

Karo felt a little uneasy talking about her baby now that Shannon wasn't able to become pregnant again, but it seemed as if she was genuinely interested in knowing how things were going so far and she would never keep anything from her.

"Really good. Growing a lot in the moment. We have another doctor's appointment tomorrow. It's time to find out the baby's sex," Karolina replied, quickly pushing down her shirt when Leni and Dylan passed them, hoping they hadn't seen her swollen belly as they were running. Not that they would understand yet.

"And I guess you still haven't told your daughter about the news," Shannon said with a grin, turning towards Maxine who was now standing next to her out of nowhere.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to welcome you home and say that I'm glad that you're feeling better. We were really worrying about you. Now we're finally complete again," Maixne said with a weak smile, her mood constantly changing now that she knew she had an appointment with her therapist later that afternoon, not telling anybody but Seth though as she didn't want to ruin the little 'Welcome-Home' party for Shannon.

"The family is reunited again," Shannon said with a chuckle, hugging both her girls gently before yelling at her boyfriend. "Get us some pizza, Ambrose. We're hungry."

Dean just looked at her dumbfounded, rolling his eyes at her when she gave him the middle finger with a mischievous smirk on her face, rethinking if having her back home was really a good idea. His girlfriend was an evil minx but he would never ever let her go again – no matter what. He would make sure of that.


	10. Sad to happy and back to sad

**The song used in this chapter is System of a Down's "Lonely Day".**

**Now enjoy and review, my beautiful friends :)**

**...**

Chapter 10: Sad to happy and back to sad

Seth placed his hand on Maxine's thigh gently, trying his best to calm her down as she had been extremely nervous ever since they had entered her doctor's office. She was really grateful that Seth was by her side but at the same time it made her feel a little uncomfortable knowing that after all of this there would be no more lies and secrets between them. It would all be out in the open and that was scary.

"It's gonna be okay, angel. I will forever stand by your side," he said quietly, kissing her temple lovingly before whispering into her ear. "I love you, Maxine. More than anything."

Their moment of intimacy was quickly interrupted by the opening of the door, a tall, young woman in plain clothes entering the room. Seth had always thought that therapists were some old, grey-haired doctors in white lab coats but this was very surprising to him. In a positive way.

"Mrs Rollins, I'm glad you finally found the time to come by again," Doctor Anthony said friendly, looking at Maxine with a genuine smile on her face. "And you must be Mr..."

"It's Seth. Just Seth. Otherwise I feel too old," he immediately interrupted her, shaking her hand when she extended hers to him, returning her smile.

They both watched as Dr Anthony sat down opposite of them on a massive leather chair, only a sparsely occupied desk in between them on which her medical documentation were put on.

"So, I'm honestly quite surprised you brought your husband along this time. What made you change your mind about telling him?" she asked instantly, not beating around the bush as they needed to get to the point straight away so that they could help Maxine as fast as possible.

"Things have been crazy at home for quite a few weeks now. At first I thought it was the constant exhaustion of taking care of two babies at the same time, but I soon realized that it's my depression that was making our lives a living hell. Seth and I almost parted ways because of the non-ending fights. I thought I could do without the medication but it seemed that I was dead wrong about that," she said with a heavy sigh, talking so openly about her feelings with Seth next to her costing her quite an effort.

"So I suppose you are staying home with your wife at the moment?" the doctor asked, directing her question at Seth who quickly nodded his head.

"Yeah. I wanted to support her in the first few months with the babies at home before I would go back on the road. I know I haven't been the kind of support she needed but now that I know what's going on, I finally realized she needs more help than just me changing a few diapers once in a while," he admitted, taking Maxine's hand into his and squeezing it softly.

"Why would you think you haven't been the kind of support she needed?" Doctor Anthony asked curiously, writing a few things down on her writing pad, making Seth feel very uneasy.

He wasn't the one who needed help. He wasn't prepared to be answering questions. But he knew that if he wanted to help his wife feel better, then he had to hang in there and make it through all of this.

"In the beginning I left her alone very much. I thought she had everything under control and so I went out with friends to work out and stuff. Apparently she wasn't able to do all of this without me. That was the first time we had a huge fight. It opened my eyes and I was finally able to see that I needed to change. Becoming a father was easy, being one is very difficult. I tried my best to help her as much as I could. But after things were fine at first, it all came crashing down soon again. We kept fighting, blaming each other for stupid things...it was ridiculous really. I think I can honestly say we were both not happy again. I wanted to leave her the day she told me about her illness. It's killing me, quite frankly. I feel horrible for not realizing that she was at the end of the rope. All these years I have not once realized that she was in pain mentally. What kind of man am I for not seeing these things? Who...," he talked himself into a rage only to be stopped midsentence by Maxine who had tears in her eyes.

"It's not your fault, Seth. I've been lying to you all these years. I've put up a big front. It's a mechanism I've gotten used to over the years. I just wasn't able to keep it up anymore. I'm exhausted. I can't do this anymore. There was nothing you could have done," she insisted, tear after tear now escaping her eyes, breaking Seth's heart even more.

"Yes. I could have. I should have seen what was really going on. I should have supported you more. I've always been so fascinated by your strength and independence that I was never able to notice how insecure and weak you really felt deep inside. I wasn't thoughtful enough and I hate myself for it," he scoffed, a single tear now streaming down his face, a sob even escaping his lips.

"Hate is such a strong word, Seth," Dr Anthony said in a soothing manner, putting the writing pad down onto the table in front of her, looking at him intently. "You should stop blaming yourself for things you didn't have control over. I've known Maxine for quite some time now and I know how convincing she can be if she tries to make you believe that she's happy. Many patients have learned to protect themselves by acting as if everything was fine."

"But I'm her husband, the father of her children. I'm not just anyone," he said desperately, even raising his voice a little.

"It doesn't matter who you are or how close you are. If Maxine didn't want you to know, you wouldn't know by now. She's told me how afraid she was to tell you the truth. She loves you very much and was scared you would leave her. It surprises me that she was honest with you."

"I want to help her. What can I do?" he asked helplessly, still teary-eyed when he wrapped his arms around Maxine's shoulders lovingly, the way her whole body was shaking with sobs tugging at his heartstrings.

"All you can do is support her. Not only by helping with the children, but by being by her side at all times. Sometimes she just needs to cry. She needs someone she can trust. I know it's much to ask for you to put up with her mood changes but it might take a few weeks until the medication is completely effective again. Cry with her if she needs to cry and smile with her if she feels like smiling. It might not seem fair to you that it's all about her right now, but very soon you both will enjoy being with each other again. It's not only important for the two of you but your children as well," the doctor explained, handing them both some tissues to wipe away their tears.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, just being in each other's arms and letting the tears fall, the only sounds audible in the room their combined sobs. They both had tried for way too long to be strong in front of each other and now it seemed that they finally could let go.

"I want to see you again on a regular basis again, Mrs Rollins. You can decide if you want to bring Seth with you or not. That is something you two need to decide together," the doctor said after a while, breaking that silence was that in the air. "I'll have my assistant prepare the prescription for your medication now. You know how many to take right?"

"One in the mornings, two before going to bed," Maxine said knowingly, smiling weakly when her doctor nodded her head in approval.

After a few more minutes they could finally leave Dr Anthony's office again, Maxine's face still puffy after crying her heart out only a couple of moments ago. It broke her heart to know that Seth was blaming himself for her misery when she very well knew it wasn't his fault. She didn't want him to feel like that. It just wasn't fair.

"Thanks for accompanying me," she said quietly, her voice almost a whisper. "It really means a lot to me."

"I'll do everything in my power to make you smile again, you know that, angel," he whispered back, wrapping his arms around her waist tightly so that he could pull her close, placing a sweet kiss onto her forehead. "We'll make it through this. I promise you that."

And although they knew it was a long way for them to go, they knew that together they could move mountains. And maybe even chase away that demon called depression.

**...**

"And this time it's a...," Dr Matthews started, chuckling when both Roman and Karolina groaned when he suddenly stopped midsentence, knowing how to tease them as he had known them for quite a few years now.

"Come on, doc. We've been waiting for this day for aaaages," Roman huffed, rolling his eyes playfully only to be swatted on his chest by his wife. "What? It's true."

"You're going to have twins," the doctor said nonchalantly, bursting out laughing when both Karo and Roman screamed a loud and horrified 'WHAT?' simultaneously. "Okay okay, sorry, I was just kidding."

"That wasn't funny, Simon," Karo admonished, still a little shocked, grateful that she could call her doctor by his first name as they were clearly spending a lot of time with each other since things in her first pregnancy didn't turn out the way they should have.

"So, what are we really gonna have now?" Roman asked, clearly impatient now.

"Well, Karo is expecting another little boy. Congratulations you two," Simon said happily, smiling warmly at the soon to be parents who were giddy with excitement.

He knew they didn't really care if it was a boy or a girl as long as their baby was healthy. A fear they were still carrying with them although Leni was perfectly healthy with no issues during the whole pregnancy. But the exhausting and complicated pregnancy she had with Joshua was still in the back of their minds and he couldn't really blame them.

"Yihaaa! Let's go tell Dean and Shannon," Roman quickly said while cleaning up his wife's pregnant belly that was still full of gel, excited to tell his best friends about the news they had just received.

"What about Seth and Maxine?" she asked a little dumbfounded, nervously watching as Roman was clumsily wiping away the liquid off of her stomach.

"I think we should give them a little more time to themselves for now. You know why, babygirl," Roman said abstractedly, raising his head slightly when Dr Matthews cleared his throat. "What's up, doc?"

"Nothing. Just kindly throw the tissues into the trashcan and not onto the floor," Simon said with a chuckle when he pointed to the sticky tissues that were now lying on the ground next to the examination table.

"He's a mess, as always," Karo said while playfully rolling her eyes, giggling when Roman growled at her, probably trying to sound intimidating.

He was just so thrilled to tell their best friends that Leni was going to have a little brother that he simply couldn't contain his excitement anymore. It was too damn adorable.

**...**

"OPEN THE DOOR, AMBROSE," Roman yelled slightly annoyed, pounding on the front door of Dean's and Shannon's house with his fist forcefully, already hearing Dylan and Leni who were toddling towards the entrance hallway, a smile immediately spreading across both his and Karo's face when they heard them giggle.

"Who's this?" Dylan asked quietly, covering Leni's mouth when she wanted to start screaming for her daddy, wanting to tease his uncle a little more.

"It's the cookie monster. I'm coming to eat all your cookies," Roman said in a deep voice, smiling at Karo when they heard the kids laugh inside the house.

"I have a nerving little cookie here for you, Mr Cookie Monster," Dylan replied, opening the door only slightly to push Leni out before quickly closing the door again.

"DADDY!" Leni screamed when Roman picked her up high in the air, blowing a raspberry onto her stomach at the skin that was revealed when he shirt was pushed up a little bit.

"Hmm...what a delicious little cookie," he chuckled as he was tickling her, yelping when his daughter pulled at his ponytail with full force.

"MOMMY... help me!" the little girl was crying out loud, trying to get to Karo who was laughing heartily next to the both of them.

"I can't help you or the cookie monster will eat me," she yelped when Roman started playfully biting her neck. "See. Now he has us both. HELP."

They all jumped when the door was opened forcefully, bouncing against the wall before Dylan out of nowhere jumped onto Roman's leg, holding on for dear life.

"Stop, cookie monster, stooop," the little boy yelled, trying to bite Roman's leg only to realize that his teeth weren't strong enough to bite his uncle's kneecap. "Spear him, Leni. Spear him."

"I can't. Go and get Uncle Dean to do the Dirty Deeds," Leni said completely out of breath, watching as Dylan jumped off of Roman's leg only to run into the house as fast as his legs would carry him.

It didn't even take him a minute to get his father to the front door, the sight in front of Dean making him crack up laughing. While Leni was still pulling at Roman's ponytail, Dylan was now trying to bite his uncle's calf when at the same time Karo was pinching his sides.

"Do you even need my help?" he asked with a chuckle, surprised when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind. "Go back to bed, sweet cheeks. You need more rest."

"I'm missing all the good stuff. Look at these weirdos," Shannon stated before gently letting go of Dean, taking her cell phone out of her sweatpants so that she could snap a picture of the incredibly adorable scene in front of her.

"Lemme guess, you're putting this onto twitter?" Dean more stated than asked, not even paying attention to his best friend who was yelling for his help. "You're such a social media victim, do you know that?"

"I am. One of us has to be. And since it's not you, it's me," she said with a sweet smile, pushing him towards the fighting quartet, urging him to help Roman to get out of their kids' grip, even though Karolina could have done it as well but she had too much fun helping the children with teasing him.

_ShannonDuh: Another typical day in the life of KarolinaWWE, WWERomanReigns TheDeanAmbrose and me. God help me! #crazydaddys #crazykids #andkaro_

As soon as she added the picture and sent out the tweet, Dean had been able to pull them all apart, shoving each and every one of them into the house, being a little more gentle to the kids and Karo than he was with Roman.

"How about you two go upstairs and clean the mess in Dylan's bedroom?" Shannon asked, looking at Dylan sternly when he shook his head no, knowing that he shouldn't mess with his mother. "I'm not going to tell you twice. Leni, you're going to help him."

Leni nodded her head quickly and gave her aunt a sweet smile, already knowing how to get Dylan to do the tidying up all by himself without having to lift a finger. She was always able to wrap someone around their finger. Maybe it was these grey eyes she had inherited from her father that made her so powerful and irresistible.

"Sooo, what did the doc say?" Shannon asked the second both kids were out of sight, knowing that they still needed to explain to Dylan and especially Leni that there would be a new baby joining them in a few months.

"Twins..." Roman said bluntly, using their doctor's joke to shock Dean and Shannon who were clearly taken aback. "...the doc said to pull a prank."

"Fucking idiot," Shannon mumbled a little annoyed, trying her best to be mad at Roman but the moment he took her hand into his to kiss her knuckles, she couldn't help but to forgive him right away.

"Come on now. I hate these guessing games," Dean huffed, running a hand through his famous messy hair, looking at his best friends expectantly.

"We're going to have a boy," Karo replied, a huge smile on her face when Roman grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly, sending her one of his signature heart-melting smiles.

"A Fred. It's gonna be a Fred...YES YES YES," Dean shouted, jumping off of the couch he had just been sitting on only to raise his fist high in the air as if he was celebrating a victory.

"It's not gonna be a Fred, you dumbass," Roman scoffed, raising an eyebrow at Dean who very slowly sat down next to Shannon again. "What would have been wrong with the baby being a girl? I think you and Leni are getting along very well."

"We do now. She was a little brat when she was a baby. I don't have the nerve for another daddy's princess when your daughter still has you wrapped around her little finger, dude," Dean answered, smirking mischievously when Roman frowned at him.

"She doesn't," he defended himself while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"SHE DOES," they all said at the same time only to burst out laughing immediately afterwards.

"I hate you all," he mumbled to himself, pouting just the way little Leni would when she was sad.

"And we love you, you little wimp," Dean said, high-fiving both Shannon and Karo before patting his best friend's shoulder, smiling when the Samoan joined them in their laughter.

They really were such a great team.

**...**

_Such a lonely day_  
_And it's mine_  
_The most loneliest day of my life_  
_Such a lonely day_  
_Should be banned_  
_It's a day that I can't stand_

Shannon was once again lying in their bedroom after Roman and Karo had left with Leni, urged by Dean to get a little more rest as she was still exhausted from all the stresses and strains before and after her surgery. She hated being alone in there. It always made her think too hard about everything that had happened in the last few days.

_The most loneliest day of my life_

_The most loneliest day of my life_

_Such a lonely day_

_Shouldn't exist_

_It's a day that I'll never miss_

Dean was putting Dylan to bed so that he could take a little nap before they would have dinner. She was happy her two boys were always around, supporting her as much as they could but nobody knew how she really felt deep inside. Although she always had her family and friends around, she felt lonely. Lonely because nobody would ever understand the pain she was suffering.

_Such a lonely day_  
_And it's mine_  
_The most loneliest day of my life_

She was happy that Karolina was having another baby. She couldn't be more thrilled for her best friend. But now that she knew the baby's sex and seeing Karo's swollen belly, she realized once again that she would never have anything like that. It was over. She wasn't going to have another baby.

_And if you go, I wanna go with you_  
_And if you die, I wanna die with you_

It broke her heart into a million tiny pieces. But who would she be able to talk to? She didn't want to bother Karo or Roman with her fears as she had no intention of ruining their excitement. Seth and Maxine were too busy with their own lives. And then there was Dean...

_Take your hand and walk away_  
_The most loneliest day of my life_  
_The most loneliest day of my life_  
_The most loneliest day of my life_

She had no idea if talking to him would be a good idea. It was still difficult discussing feelings with him. Most of the times he tried to ignore whenever anything felt wrong. He hated analysing things and talking them through when he knew he clearly couldn't do anything about it.

_Such a lonely day_  
_And it's mine_  
_It's a day that I'm glad I survived_

"Are you okay, sweet cheeks?" his voice suddenly broke her train of thoughts, even startling her a little as she didn't hear him entering the bedroom.

"Yes, I'm fine," she lied, even managing to give him a weak smile but when he frowned at her she knew that he was having none of it.

"Why are you crying then?" he asked quietly, now making his way over to where she was sitting on the edge of the bed, immediately making her look at him by lifting her chin with his index finger as she was now looking at the floor. "Talk to me, babe."

Dean was sincerely worried about her this time. Something in him changed when he saw how she was lying on that hospital bed just a few days ago. It made him realize that every day could be the last one and that they needed to cherish each and every minute to the fullest before it was too late.

"I'm okay...really...," she mumbled, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, a fake smile plastered on her face.

"Stop lying to me, Shannon. I know something's bothering you and I want you to trust me enough to tell me what's heavy on your heart," he said, not only surprising her but him as well with the kind words that had just left his mouth.

"I can't tell you," she sighed, once again trying to break the eye contact but he wouldn't let her.

"Yes you can. You can talk to me about everything, sweetheart," he insisted, cupping her face with both of his hands, placing a sweet kiss onto her lips before gently letting go of her again. "Spill the beans."

Shannon wasn't sure if telling Dean about everything that was on her mind was a good idea but it was now or never. It would only eat her alive should she bottle it all up. She needed to be honest with him and he deserved the truth. What did she have to lose anyways?

"I can't handle the idea of not having the possibility of carrying another child," she blurted out, a sob instantly escaping her lips after she had said those words.

The tension in the room was almost tangible when Dean didn't answer. She knew he wouldn't be able to cope with the truth but she thought she would at least let him know what was really going on inside of her.

Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours. Shannon couldn't stop the tears that were constantly streaming down her face. But when Dean finally wrapped his arms around her, she immediately melted into his embrace, his strong arms around her having such a calming effect on her that she finally stopped shaking.

"We have Dylan, sweet cheeks. You gave me a wonderful boy and you couldn't have made me happier. I know we should have talked about this a long time ago, but I was too much of a coward to get straight to the point," he started to explain, his voice very quiet and calm. "I've told you before that I love you the way you are. And I just now realize how much you've been craving to have another baby. I wish I could give you that. I wish there was anything I could do to give you the chance to carry another baby below your heart. But Shannon, as hard as it sounds...it's not going to happen again."

He immediately stopped her when he felt that she wanted to say something. The words he had just thrown at her maybe sounding mean or heartless, but he had always been brutally honest. That was just who he was.

"I wasn't done talking yet. Please let me finish," he pleaded, kissing her forehead softly while his arms were still wrapped around her tightly. "Things between us won't change because of what happened. Yes, you can't physically carry another baby, but if a baby is something you so desperately want, then we'll find other ways.

"Other ways?" she asked hoarsely, looking up at him slightly, her cheeks puffy after all the crying.

"Yeah...adoption...or whatever possibilities there are," he replied, sighing when he saw her looking at him wide-eyed. "But baby, please, all that matters now is that you're getting healthy again. We're a family...Dylan, you and me. We have a bunch of kids running around this house on a daily basis, and if Karo and Roman keep going like this, it will be 5 more."

A huge smile spread across his face when he heard her giggle, taking a load off his mind. He knew that it wouldn't make her feel better having other people's kids around when she wanted another one of her own, but he was sure that time healed all wounds. He would be by her side until the very day he would die. With or without cervix.

He sighed when she yawned loudly, hugging her even closer before finally letting her go again. He placed butterfly kisses all over her face, telling her over and over again how much he loved her. And although he didn't even let her talk much, but did all the talk himself, he knew without words what she was feeling deep inside. He might have been heartless in the past, but he wasn't blind. And he knew her like the back of his hand.

"Sleep a little, baby. I'll be down to prepare dinner, okay? Stop crying now...I don't like women with crinkles. I want my ladies to be sexy bitches, you know it," he said, making her giggle once again.

He kissed her one more time before putting a blanket over her still slightly tensed up body, kissing her forehead before quietly leaving the room.

The moment he closed the door behind him, he texted the one person he knew would be able to help him right now:

_*Roman, I need your help…*_

**...**

_**! ! ! IMPORTANT! ! ! PLEASE NOTE:**_

**I will change my username on here from tina619 to ****ItReignsJustice-619**** due to personal reasons. Hopefully this isn't too confusing and I really hope I can keep you as my follower/reader. Thanks a lot for understanding :)**


	11. The birds and the bees

**What happened on Monday really – and I mean REALLY - broke my heart. I can't believe Seth really did this. I still refuse to accept that it's over. I still BELIEVE IN THE SHIELD. I believe in Reigns, Ambrose AND Rollins! And I always will *ugly sobbing* I still hope it's just a plan of our boys to destroy Evolution from the inside out. PRAYER CIRCLE!**

**Oh, and I hope you still remember that this is tina619. I just changed my pen name on here :)**

**Now enjoy & review :)**

**…**

Chapter 11: The birds and the bees

It was a week later that Roman and Karolina decided that it was time to tell Leni that she was going to have a little brother in a few months. Karo was starting to show more with each week passing by and as they were hopeful that nothing would happen to their baby, they were sure that telling Leni was the right thing to do. She would need some time to get used to the idea that she wasn't the only one anymore and as her parents they wanted to give her as much time as possible while at the same time letting her be a part of the pregnancy.

"Are you sure you want to tell her now? You barely slept last night," Karo said concerned, the dark bags under Roman's eyes giving away that he was very tired and exhausted.

It was the night before that he arrived at home late after having been on the road for the last couple of days. But as worn out as he was, whenever he was home he wanted to spend as much time with Karo and Leni as possible. So sleeping in was no option for him.

"I'm fine, babygirl. I'm too damn excited to tell her the news that I wouldn't be able to sleep any longer anyways," he said with a mischievous grin, making Karo's heart jump with joy.

Together they had decided that this time around he wouldn't stay at home with her during the whole pregnancy. Karo was a lot more stable mentally than she was when she was carrying Leni. And now that Seth and Maxine were living just around the corner and with Shannon always around, things had become easier for her. Dean was still staying home with Shannon until she was fully healed again so that they could make sure she could take care of Dylan without being in pain.

"I'm not even sure how to explain this to her," she said with a frown, afraid that her daughter wouldn't want to accept the fact that there was somebody that could possibly take in her place although both Karo and Roman knew they would love both of them equally.

"Don't worry about it. Let me do the talk. Just be there and show off your cute pregnant belly," he said with his heart-melting smile, leaning over to place a sweet kiss onto her lips before whispering. "And just to let you know...I'm ready again."

Karo giggled as she instantly knew what he was talking about. Since the 'one minute man' incident a week ago, she had given him all the time he needed to let him get a well-deserved break. She knew she was asking a lot when she needed sex every day, once or sometimes even twice, and so she thought that maybe this little accident was a sign for them to slow down for a bit.

"Hmm, that's good to know 'cause I'm out of batteries," she whispered against his lips, chuckling when he tickled her sides, throwing her onto her back on the bed as gently as he could before hovering over her, teasing her neck with soft bites and kisses, making her moan.

"You can't replace this dick and you know it, babygirl," he groaned against her ear, licking her earlobe and brushing his lips against it seductively.

He slightly thrust his boxer briefs-covered crotch against her clothed mound, letting her feel his semi-hard erection, chuckling to himself when she gasped aloud. He knew that her current sex drive was making it unbelievably difficult for her to pull herself together. Whenever she saw a chance of having a quickie, she took it.

But there was someone who had other plans for them.

_Knock knock knock_

"Mommy?" a small voice asked from the other side of the door, making Roman and Karo jump in shock.

"Fuck...fuck fuck fuck. I can't have her see this," Roman whispered as he motioned to the tent in his boxers, looking at Karo helplessly after she had pushed him off of her.

"Hide under the damn blanket, dumbass," she mumbled while rolling her eyes, quickly getting out of the bed to put on the bathrobe that was hanging on a hook on the door.

Before she opened the door to let her daughter in, she turned around to see if Roman was safe under the covers only to see him smile at her sheepishly and shrugging his shoulders innocently.

"Good morning, princess," Karo said lovingly after opening the door, kneeling down in front of her daughter who was still very sleepy, her Roman Reigns action figure squeezed tightly under her arm.

"Mommy, why was the door closed?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her tired eyes before wrapping her tiny arms around her mother's neck, silently asking her to pick her up.

"Look who's back home, sweetie. I think this stranger over there forget to keep it open for his precious little girl," Karo whispered into Leni's ear, kissing the top of her head softly before turning around so that she could see that her father was home again.

"DADDY," she all of a sudden screamed the minute she realized that he was sitting on the bed, immediately kicking her legs so that Karo would let her down. "Daddy daddy daddy. I missed you soooo much."

She quickly climbed onto the bed, throwing herself into her father's arms only to hug him as tightly as she could. She always hated to see him leave, most of the times crying her eyes out as she still wasn't used to him being gone so much. That was why Roman always tried to leave the house when she was in bed already.

"I missed you too, princess," he said happily when he felt her small arms wrapped around his neck, inhaling the scent of her hair that always smelled like strawberry. He loved that little girl more than life itself. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. I dreamed of swimming in a bath full of Nutella," she said while excitedly clapping her hands, looking slightly confused when both Roman and Karo burst out laughing.

"She's so much like you, babygirl," Roman said while winking at his wife, remembering the countless glasses of Nutella she had scoffed down while she was pregnant with Leni.

"Daddy, why do you call mommy babygirl? She's not a baby anymore," Leni asked curiously, raising her eyebrow just like her Uncle Dwayne would do, making Roman smile warmly at her.

"I love your mommy very much, and just like I call you my princess, she is my babygirl. You have cute names for people you love," he explained to her, kissing her forehead when she nodded her head in understanding.

"Is that why Auntie Shannon calls Uncle Dean idiot all the time?" she asked puzzled, scratching the back of her head with one of her hands.

"Uhm...no...that's not a nice word, munchkin. I'm sure your auntie didn't mean it like that," Karo tried to reason, not knowing how to make her daughter understand that this actually was a curse word.

"I can't call Dylan idiot?" she asked dumbfounded, pouting a little as she always thought it was funny to call her cousin like that.

"Nope. I don't want you to use this word ever again, you hear me?" Roman requested sternly, only smiling at her when she agreed by once again nodding her head.

He watched as Karolina slowly made her way over to them so that she could sit down next to them on the bed, inconspicuously pointing at her stomach to remind Roman that they wanted to let their daughter know that they were expecting another baby.

"Honey, mommy and daddy need to tell you something really important. Are you still too sleepy and want to take another nap before we do?" he asked her a little nervously, hoping that she would be awake enough to fully understand what they were about to say.

"I'm not tired anymore. I was in bed early yesterday, right mommy?" she asked proudly, smiling brightly when Karo nodded her head. She knew she could be a good girl if she wanted to.

"Very good, sweetheart," he said relieved, picking her up slightly to sit her down in between him and his wife, turning towards her so that he could face her properly. "Do you remember when Auntie Maxine had this huge belly a few months ago?"

He knew it sounded dumb to use the words 'huge belly' but he wanted to keep it as simply as possible so that his daughter would understand what he was talking about. He had to admit he became more and more nervous with each second passing by.

"Yes, Uncle Sethie said Joan and Hayley were in there," she said nonchalantly, probably not having thought much about it just yet. "Why daddy?"

Roman licked his suddenly very dry lips as his body tensed up, looking at Karo unsure before raising his head slightly, silently asking her to push up her shirt to reveal her swollen belly.

"Look at mommy, princess," he said quietly, watching his daughter intently when she first looked at her mother's face only to realize that she had exposed her stomach.

"Mommy ate a lot of chocolate yesterday, daddy," she said seriously, almost making Roman and his wife crack up laughing. She wasn't able to put one and one together yet.

"I bet she did," he said with a chuckle, yelping when Karo slapped the back of his head lightly. "Do you know why she's eating so much chocolate at the moment?"

When Leni shook her head no, they both knew it was time to tell her the truth. It was now or never and there was no turning back now. He just hoped she would understand.

"Mommy has a little baby in there, munchkin," he whispered into his daughter's ear before pressing a kiss onto her temple, one of his hands touching his wife's belly and caressing it while holding onto Leni with his free arm.

"A baby?" she asked confused, also placing her tiny hand on Karo's stomach just like her dad had.

"Yeah, just like Joan and Hayley were in Auntie Maxine's belly. But there's only one in there this time," he said while slightly poking Karo's flesh.

"When will the baby come out?" she asked curiously, also poking her mother's skin, always loving to mimic her father's actions.

"It will take a little while. A few more months," Karo said hoarsely, tears forming in her eyes while she watched how both the love of her lives were caressing her stomach.

"Before my birthday?" she wondered aloud, looking straight into her mother's eyes.

"No, a long time after your birthday, munchkin," she replied, running a shaky hand through Leni's wavy long black hair. She was such a beautiful little girl.

"The baby no kicking?" she asked, sometimes still having trouble forming a sentence correctly but that was okay with her only turning 3 years old soon.

"Not yet. It's still too small and needs to grow a little to be able to kick," Roman said with a smile, enjoying this intimate moment he shared with his two favourite girls.

He wasn't sure f Leni fully understood what all of this really meant to her. He believed she knew that there was indeed a baby inside of Karo and that this baby would come out of there eventually, but she probably had no idea about the consequences. Her life would change completely but she would soon enough realize that.

"Is it boy or girl?" she asked while letting her hand follow Roman's, both of them still caressing Karo's pregnant belly lovingly.

"You're gonna have a brother, munchkin," Karolina said contently, smiling down at her daughter and chuckling when she frowned. "What is it, sweetie? Did you want to have a sister?"

"I have a brother already, mommy. He's up there in heaven," she said as a matter of fact, not knowing that these few simple words were all Karo needed to let the tears that she had tried to suppress so badly to escape her eyes. "Why you crying now?"

The sadness in her voice made Karo cry even harder. She wished she had control over her emotions but as always her hormones got the best of her and there wasn't anything she could do about it.

"We all miss Joshua very much, you know?" Roman replied for his wife, not wanting his daughter to think that it was her fault that Karo was crying now. "He was a beautiful little boy. But now you and Joshua will have a little brother. Are you excited?"

Without breaking the eye contact with Leni, Roman took Karo's hand behind their daughter's back, squeezing it tightly to let her know that she wasn't alone and that everything would be fine again. He knew she missed Joshua terribly, and so did he, but now with her being pregnant, her hormones were all over the place, making it difficult for her to handle her mood changes.

"I think so," she said, making both her parents chuckle, even Karo whose sobs were finally quieting down again. "But how did the baby get in there?"

Roman and Karolina looked at each other in shock, both of them wide-eyed. Did she really ask this? Did Leni really ask how the baby got into Karo's belly? What were they supposed to say now? They could definitely not talk to her about sex yet. She wasn't even three. But they both agreed that the birds and the bees story wasn't making sense as well.

"Uhm...," Karo mumbled, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that was between them. The fact that Leni stared back and forth between her parents expectantly didn't really help matters.

"So...well...," Roman started, nervously biting his bottom lip, not really sure what to say but he knew he had to come up with something now. "A baby is made from lots of love between two adults. And as mommy and daddy love each other very much, we now have you and soon your little brother."

Roman really hoped that this explanation would be sufficient and that their daughter would not ask any further questions. He felt really uncomfortable talking to her about this, knowing she was too young to know how the baby REALLY got in there.

"Love makes babies?" she asked in a small voice, smiling when her parents nodded their heads. "That's cool."

Roman and Karo looked at each other relieved, both of them chuckling silently before gasping in awe when Leni leaned towards her mother, kissing her belly softly before saying: "I can't wait to play with you, little brother."

**...**

Seth entered the bathroom after putting both Joan and Hayley to bed, not caring that he had to take a piss while his wife was right next to him under a shower, always completely open-minded about things like that.

"Did everything work out?" she asked curiously when she noticed that he was in the room with her, quickly turning around so that he could only see her from behind, her front now facing the faucet.

"Yep. They fell asleep the minute their heads hit the pillows," he said with a chuckle, finishing his business before moving over to the sink, washing his hands.

The last week had been a rough one for both Maxine and Seth. He accompanied her to her therapy sessions every second day, shocked to see through how much pain she had been going through after things have ended between her and her ex-boyfriend. He still felt guilty about not noticing how sad she was the whole time but both Maxine and her therapist explained to him over and over again that it wasn't his fault. The most important thing was that they finally talked to each other. There were no more secrets, no more fights. He held her in his arms if she needed to cry. He listened to her for hours and never complained. He loved this woman with all his heart and he would never ever let her go again.

He quickly pushed his boxer briefs down his legs, knocking on the glass façade of their shower with a mischievous grin on his face, even chuckling when she turned around slightly with a confused look on her face.

"Uhm...yeah?" she asked completely dumbfounded, looking at him wide-eyed when he moved slightly so that he could step into the shower cubicle. "What are you doing, Seth?"

Seth took a deep breath before he was finally able to pick up all of his courage, placing both of his hands on her hips from behind before very slowly turning her around so that she was facing him. Out of instinct she hid her breasts behind her arms which were now folded in front of her chest, a blush on her face.

"Don't hide from me, angel. You know I love you," he said very quietly, moving his head forward slowly, inch by inch, until his lips brushed against hers lightly. "I love every inch of your body. Please...trust me."

Maxine swallowed hard, tears once again building in her eyes when she realized how sincere and genuine he sounded. She knew she could trust him. He would never judge her. He would never ever tell her to change because he loved her the way she was. If she just wasn't so damn self-conscious...

Without her really realizing it, he took both of her arms and pushed them down so that they were at her sides. He wasted no time and cupped her breasts with his calloused hands, massaging them, rubbing her nipples in between his fingers, making her moan.

"Tell me you want me," he whispered against her lips, kissing her over and over again, her moans music to his ears. "Tell me, Maxine."

"I want you," she immediately panted, loving the feeling of his hands caressing her body, cherishing her breasts and making her feel beautiful. "I want you so bad."

He bent down slowly, kissing a path down her neck, licking along her collarbone, even biting her flesh here and there, making her gasp. A small scream escaped her lips when he sucked her right nipple into his mouth, letting his tongue slide over it again and again, not stopping with the sweet torture as he kept rubbing her left nipple in between his thumb and index finger.

"Does this feel good, baby?" he asked in between licks, looking up at her only to see that she had her eyes closed in pleasure, the nodding of her head telling him that he was getting the job done. He would never forget how to please his lady.

It had been a while since they last had sex, with her being so depressed and the constant fighting before that, they hadn't really gotten intimate again. It was exciting for the both of them, exploring each other's bodies...it was like the first time all over again.

He gasped when he suddenly felt her hand wrap around his growing erection, the feeling of her fingers wrapped around his cock one of the best things in a long time. She agonizingly slowly started stroking him, up and down, back and forth. He was about to lose his mind with her passionate movements, but he had to stay focused, wanting to make her feel just as amazing as she was making him.

His right hand left her breast now, his lips not stopping to pleasure her right nipple continuously. He moved his hand over her side back to the front, then over her stomach before finally reaching its destination: He very slowly let it slide over her wet body, passing her pubic bone until he eventually touched her clit, rubbing it in slow circles with two of his fingers, the yelp that escaped her lips all he needed to hear in that very moment.

"God, that feels so good," she breathed, now opening her eyes when she felt that Seth was eye-level with her again, the look in his own reflecting pure lust and need.

He once again pressed his lips onto hers, licking her bottom lip almost immediately so that she opened her mouth just enough so that he could let his tongue slip inside, quickly finding hers and embracing her in a heated and passionate make up session.

They were both still pleasuring each other with their hands, moaning into the other one's mouth, both their bodies tensed up and electrified by what was happening right now.

"I can't wait any longer," he whispered after gently breaking the kiss, looking deep into her light green eyes hopefully. He wanted her, he needed her. And he couldn't wait any longer.

"Then take me," she whispered back, softly letting go of his throbbing length, in the process also removing his hand from her wet hole which he was already probing with his fingers.

He was surprised when she quickly turned around, a shy smile on her face when her back was facing him now. She seductively wiggled her ass before supporting her upper body with her hands against the shower wall.

"I know you like hitting it from behind, baby. Go ahead before I change my mind about all of this," she mumbled, still feeling a little insecure being so naked in front of him but she kept reminding herself that this was her husband, the man that loved her with everything he had.

She didn't need to tell him twice as in one fell swoop he plunged his hard cock into her wet pussy, filling her to the hilt, both of them moaning out loud. The feeling of once again being reunited with her, with the woman he loved more than anything else in this world, was the most amazing feeling he had experienced in a while.

"Fuck...babe...you feel so good," he groaned, grabbing both of her hips with his hands, digging his nails into her flesh before standing still for a few moments.

He knew that if he would continue pumping into her right away, the fun would be over before it even really started. And he most certainly didn't want to risk that. He wanted to enjoy this. He wanted to cherish every second being inside of her, feeling her walls around his shaft, embracing him like a glove. He was in heaven.

"Move...please...," she pleaded, pushing back so that he understood that she desperately wanted him to finally make love to her again. It had been way too long already.

He did just as he was told, moving in and out of her at an agonizingly slow pace, his eyes closed as he enjoyed the warm wetness that welcomed him. There was no other woman in this world that had ever felt as amazing as Maxine did. She was home.

"God, I missed you, angel," he whispered hoarsely, his movements now becoming faster and harder, both finding a steady rhythm as she pushed back into his thrusts.

They had no idea how long they were loving each other in the shower, but they soon felt that the water that was still pouring over them was slowly but surely turning cold now. A sign that their lovemaking session had taken some time already.

Seth gently pulled Maxine up by her wet hair, his chest now pressed against her back tightly, immediately finding her sweet spot on her neck with his lips. While he held onto her hip with his left hand, his right one slowly moved in between her legs, once again finding her hardened nub that he quickly rubbed with his index and middle finger.

"I want you to cum for me, baby," he whispered into her ear while still pounding into her from behind, the way he was pleasuring her clit almost making her pass out. "I want you to explode all over this dick...come on, Maxine."

His dirty talk was all she needed to finally let loose. Her whole body started tensing up, her walls now tightening around his throbbing length, milking him for all he was worth. A primal scream escaped her lips, not even caring if their kids would be able to hear them or not as she was completely overwhelmed by the sensations she was currently experiencing.

"Yes...that's it...scream for me, baby," he groaned, hitting her sweet spot continuously, her screams and the way her juices were coating his cock was all that was necessary for making him cum as well.

His movements were frantic and uncoordinated when he eventually spurted his hot seed deep inside of her, his screams matching hers, the sounds of skin smacking skin filling the bathroom.

They stood there in silence for a couple of minutes, his cock still buried deep inside of her, not wanting to let go of each other ever again. She could feel his heart beating fast against her back, his breathing still shallow just like hers. She only realized now how much she had missed being with him. She loved this man with all her heart.

"I love you, beautiful," he whispered into her ear sincerely, kissing her shoulder softly.

And in this moment he had accomplished one thing. He made her believe it. He made her feel beautiful.


	12. The evolution of a certain someone

**This current storyline with 'The Shield' is killing me. I really like how Dean is being the old Moxley…dude, that wife-beater and those jeans last night though…jeez. That ruined me!**

**And laaaaaaaadies, Roman is in the MITB ladder match for the titles. How awesome is that? Ahhh fangirling hard***

**I'm not too happy about the way they are treating Seth. Although they made it look like he's going to be the star from now on, they make him look weak by letting him run away from Dean and have him and Bray help each other…**

**Well, enough of my boring blabla I just hope that all three will remain main eventers. These three guys are simply amazing.**

**Now enjoy & review (and forgive me for not posting a chapter last week…I was sooo busy at work) !**

**...**

Chapter 12: The evolution of a certain someone

Karolina looked up at Roman with lust-filled eyes, her breathing shallow, her heart beating fast in her chest. The way his fingers were circling her clit while his greyish eyes were looking deep into hers was making her whole body shiver in excitement.

"I want you now...I want you deep inside of me," she panted while softly and slowly stroking his throbbing length, her legs automatically spreading wider apart when he started moving so that he was now hovering over her.

"Do you want me to fuck you? Do you want me to make this sweet pussy of yours mine?" he whispered into her ear, licking her earlobe seductively and breathing heavily so that her whole body was covered in goosebumps.

"God yes...," she moaned out loud, his dirty talk always having an indescribable effect on her that made her even wetter than she already was.

Roman grabbed both of her legs and pushed her ankles onto his shoulders, careful not to be too rough with her as he didn't want to hurt their baby. But all he needed right now was to be deep inside of her. He wanted to fill her to the hilt, make her scream his name and coat his dick with her juices. A week without being buried inside of her was way too long for his taste.

"Here we go, babygirl," he said through gritted teeth, gently placing his hard erection at her entrance before in one fell swoop entering her until he was balls deep in.

But what happened then was exactly what he had been afraid of. It was something that had been haunting him since that day he erupted all over her face without really wanting it.

He came.

"FUCK," he shouted angrily, startling Karo so much that she yelped, her eyes wide open in shock.

She had no idea what had just happened, only realizing what had occurred the moment he slid out of her, his seed dripping out of her wet core, down her inner thighs.

He quickly let go of her legs, making them fall back onto the bed in disregard, his Samoan temper taking over, making him forget what was right or wrong.

Without saying another word he quickly exited the bedroom, leaving behind a dumbfounded and astonished Karolina who quite frankly didn't know what to do. Should she follow him and talk to him? Or should she leave him alone and give him some space? What in the hell was wrong anyways? She had absolutely no idea why this was happening to them. This was the second time Roman had reached his orgasm out of nowhere and she had no explanation as to why. Then again, it quite frankly didn't even bother her that much. Things like that happened to millions of men all around the world. Maybe it was her fault. Maybe she pushed him too much, expected too much from him.

With a sigh she carefully sat up, taking a couple of tissues from her bedside table to clean up the mess in between her legs before grabbing her robe that was hanging on a hook on the door so that she could go out in search of her husband who clearly needed her support. Or so she thought...

When she saw that the light in the bathroom was switched on, she knew that he must have been in there. That was exactly where she expected him to be as he always needed to splash some cold water into his face to cool down his bad temper. It was one of his habits.

When she tried opening the door, she was surprised to realize that he had locked it. He normally never locked the bathroom door, whether he was taking a shower or taking care of any other business. So seeing him hide in there was definitely a statement.

"Roman, would you let me in please?" she asked quietly after knocking on the door twice, not wanting to wake their daughter that was sleeping just a few doors away. "Roman?"

She started worrying when he didn't answer, the silence in the room making her feel very uneasy. Was he shutting her out now? He who always wanted to talk things through was now bottling things up himself?

She knocked again. Once, twice.

Still nothing.

"Open the fucking door now," she scoffed, banging on the door a little louder this time, her impatience eventually taking over.

She gasped when he fiercely opened the bathroom door, so forcefully that it almost bounced against the wall, but he stopped it just in time, not wanting to cause too much drama.

"What do you want, Karolina?" he asked furiously, glaring at her with anger reflecting in his normally beautiful grey eyes.

She was taken aback by his bad temper, hating it when he once against lost his cool, his Samoan temperament shining through.

"How about we talk about this?" she more stated then asked, pointing her thumb backwards into the direction of their bedroom where another 'one minute man' incident had happened just a few minutes ago.

"What is there left to talk about? Actions speak louder than words, not only in a positive way," he hissed, wanting to close the door in her face but she was quick enough to step in between, pushing the door open and entering the bathroom in determination.

"Roman...please...," she sighed, running a hand over her face tiredly, not wanting to fight with him because of something so trivial.

"Please what? What do you expect from me now? Act as if everything's ok?" he snapped, bending down to look for some boxer briefs in the dryer, his well-toned ass impressing Karo more and more each time she looked at it, immediately making her horny again. But that definitely had to wait now.

"Everything IS fine," she replied, emphasizing the word 'is' in order to convince him that this wasn't a big deal to her.

"Oh yeah...everything is perfectly fine. So fine that I can't even satisfy my woman's needs because I'm not able to fucking perform," he scoffed, throwing several towels out of the dryer before finally finding some underwear he could put on.

"Why are you making such a big deal out of it? I'm okay...I swear," she said, not really done with her sentence but Roman cut her off immediately.

"Of course you are. 'Cause the minute I'm outta the house, you take your fucking vibrator and get off yourself," he countered, grabbing his hair tightly and putting it into a loose ponytail before splashing some cold water into his face, trying to retain his composure.

"God, it's just sex, Ro," she said with a sigh, rolling her eyes at him annoyed, letting him know that she was having none of his shit by calling him 'Ro'. Something he didn't necessarily like.

"It's just sex? How can you say that just like that? You're a fucking sex addict at the moment," he replied with another curse, not even meaning that in a negative way as it simply was the truth and they both knew it.

"Not having sex won't kill me, you know? Besides, you know you make me feel good with your hands and tongue just as much," she said with a mischievous smirk on her face, hoping she would be able to calm him down a little but it was to no avail. "Roman...what is it? Is there anything you wanna talk about? Anything bothering you?"

Roman sighed heavily while looking into the mirror, the dark bags under his eyes giving away that he was not only tired but extremely exhausted as well. Everywhere he went he needed to give his everything. He wanted to make everyone happy: his wife, his daughter, his family and friends but also the higher ups of the WWE, his fans...simply everyone. It just wasn't possible though.

"I'm at the end of my rope, Karolina," he admitted softly, turning around so that he could face her properly, immediately feeling guilty for being responsible for the sad look on her face. He really shouldn't have snapped at her like that.

"But why?" she asked quietly, her voice almost a whisper.

He watched as she slowly and cautiously made her way over to him, not sure what to do or what to say. He extended his hands to her, his actions letting her know that it was safe to come closer to him, although she knew he would never hurt her in any way.

"I think I'm putting myself under too much pressure. I'm feeling like some kind of robot that functions automatically. I'm working so hard to be in the title run again while at the same time trying to be there for you and Leni. Don't get me wrong, you know I love you both with all my heart and I enjoy spending every second of my free time with you but I feel as if I can't do this much longer. I need a break. I need a week off or something. But how the fuck do I explain this to Hunter? I can't show any kind of weakness," he mumbled, immediately breaking the eye contact to her.

He hated to admit that he was losing his strength. He was the strong one in everybody's eyes. Roman was known to handle it all. He didn't need any breaks, he didn't need anybody's help. He did it all on his own. But the fact was that he was just a human being after all. And right now he was simply exhausted.

"You should have told me, baby," she said after swallowing hard, tears forming in her eyes as guilt washed over her. "I would have given you more time to yourself. Leni and I could have stayed somewhere else and..."

"Have you lost your mind?" he asked after cutting her off instantly. "You're my saving grace, woman. You're the one that puts my mind at ease. You're the one I need to help me calm down. Being without you and Leni is what's killing me the most while I'm on the road."

"But...I...I always make you work around here as well. You barely get any sleep when you're coming home, Leni is all over you when you're here and then your crazy, pregnant wife is always horny, expecting you to satisfy her needs when all you need is some rest," she mumbled, wrapping her arms around Roman's neck gently, sighing when he placed a sweet kiss onto her lips.

"You know I'm always in for a lovemaking session but I'm afraid my dick can't handle it right now," he said after swallowing hard, even blushing after once again realizing that he wasn't able to perform. "Do you have any idea how horrible it feels for a man to go through this? I don't even feel man enough right now."

Karo honestly couldn't even begin to understand how he was feeling deep inside. Roman was a proud man. Not being able to make love to his wife and make her reach her peak was a slap in the face to him. He doubted himself and his masculinity. It already was the second time he came before things even got really started and he was more than just a little ashamed.

"Sometimes you're more man than I can handle," she said with a giggle, trying to lighten the mood a little and this time it seemed she succeeded as a deep chuckle escaped his lips.

"At least you think it's funny," he replied with a weak smile on his face, finally able to look into her eyes again. "My pride is really hurt right now, you know? Lemme at least make it up to you..."

And with that he went down on his knees, opening her robe slowly before eventually letting his tongue slide over her lips, parting them with two of his fingers only to suck her clit into his mouth, licking it furiously.

He could only hope that next time he would be able to perform again. But nothing was for sure... Maybe this time he needed Dean's and Seth's advice. As embarrassing as it was for him to admit that.

**...**

"Wow, that's the first time in a looong time that I was actually able to eat a full meal without having the need to throw up," Shannon said while rubbing her belly, making everybody at the table around her laugh.

This had been the first time since Shannon's surgery that all of their friends had once again reunited to go out to a restaurant to enjoy each other's company without one of them having to prepare dinner or having to clean up the mess afterwards. It was especially refreshing for Shannon as Dean for once did not pamper her like he had all these past weeks. As much as she appreciated his concern, she was incredibly annoyed by his overprotectiveness and that more than just once resulted in them yelling at each other for no reason in particular.

"And that's the first time in a while that I'm still hungry after having a full meal," Karo stated with a sigh, sticking out her tongue at her friends when they all continued laughing. She wasn't joking. Not at all. This was some serious business for her.

"You'll get some ice cream later, babygirl," Roman promised with a smile, rubbing her swollen belly gently before kissing her temple softly, knowing that at the moment she was craving for some Ben & Jerry's. The sheer smell of Nutella actually made her sick to her stomach this time around.

"YAY," Seth said loudly, clapping his hands excitedly when Roman mentioned ice cream, making the Samoan raise an eyebrow at his younger friend curiously. "What? Can't I be excited for ice cream too? Jeez, you're such a party pooper."

"Daddy, can I too have ice cream? You said I can have some after we...," Leni started speaking but was instantly cut off by her dad who quickly kissed her tiny lips to shut her up.

"You'll get anything you want, munchkin. But you still need to keep our little secret, you hear me?" he whispered into her ear, looking at her expectantly and smiling at her warmly when she nodded her head in understanding.

"Can I have some ice cream as well?" Dylan asked this time, pouting when he once again had the feeling that Leni got everything she wanted just by batting her eyelashes at his Uncle Roman. She was such a princess sometimes.

"Yeah...what about me? Can I have ice cream as well?" Seth joined in, also pouting as he couldn't cross his arms in front of his chest since he had Joan on his lap while Maxine was carrying Hayley.

"Maxine, I had no idea you popped out triplets instead of twins," Dean groaned while rolling his eyes, growling when Seth threw a napkin at him. "Somebody needs to get spanked."

"I DO," Karo immediately shouted, her eyes wide open in shock when she realized that she had really said that out loud, the confused looks on their children's faces making everybody laugh.

"Mommy, were you a bad girl? Only bad girls get spankings," Leni said in an innocent manner, not understanding why her mother wanted to get this kind of punishment voluntarily.

"Your mommy is always a bad...ouch, what was that for, woman?" Dean asked when Shannon swatted his arm, rubbing the spot where he had been hit to ease the pain. His girlfriend definitely didn't hit like a girl.

"There are kids around, Ambrose," she said through gritted teeth as she didn't want the kids to hear her, giving both Dylan and Leni a fake smile afterwards.

"Ambrose...," Dylan chuckled, Leni quickly joining him as she started giggling, both of them continuously calling Dean by his last name now.

"Great...see what you've done there," Dean growled, looking at Shannon annoyed while the kids were still laughing at him.

"Can I have some lemonade, Ambrose?" Dylan asked, trying to high five Leni but they both missed, making them chuckle even harder.

"These kids will be the death of me one day," he mumbled to himself, letting his forehead hit the table in front of him over and over again. He was so done already and the day wasn't even over yet. Ohhhh no, not at all.

**...**

"The sun is setting already. Shouldn't we all head back home again?" Shannon asked rather confused, surprised that they all were talking a long walk on the beach when they could easily sit in one of their backyards with a couple of cold beers and, for Karo, some water.

"Stop complaining, toots. Don't you enjoy a romantic walk on the beach?" Dean asked, not really looking at her but glancing at Roman sideways, noticing that his Samoan buddy was grinning to himself.

"Yeah...it's really romantic with just the two of us, Dean," she said while frowning at him, pointing to their friends who were walking either next to them or in front of them.

"Don't be such a wimp. We all know you're fantasizing about having sex with Roman. Hey big man, mind holding my woman's hand as well? She might feel more cherished then," Dean said, chuckling when Shannon slapped the back of his head angrily, even blushing slightly when Roman wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"And I wanna have sex with Vin Diesel," Karo moaned, once again completely forgetting that there were people around who could hear her. Thankfully the kids were playing hide and seek, completely out of earshot.

"Horny bitch," Seth mumbled, yelping when this time it was him getting swatted by his wife. "Damn...why would you hit me like that? That shit hurt."

"Because you just called your best friend a horny bitch. Watch your mouth, mister," she admonished him, shaking her head in disbelief about her husband's choice of words, thankful that her little girls did not understand just yet what they were talking about.

They all immediately looked at Dean when he cleared his throat loudly, exactly knowing what this little sign meant for them. It was their cue. They looked in front of them, seeing the rock where they had hid all of the utensils they would need right now.

Shannon watched in confusion as Roman, Karolina, Seth, Maxine and the kids walked on while Dean stopped her dead in her tracks by grabbing her by the wrist, a frown on her beautiful face. She looked back and forth between her friends and her boyfriend, not really sure what was going on when they disappeared behind a big rock.

"Dean, what the fuck is going on?" she asked dumbfounded, her heart beating fast in her chest when she saw the insecure look on Dean's face. Something she had barely ever seen when she looked at him.

He just looked at her without saying another word, his eyes looking into hers deeply, thousands of thoughts running through his mind. He had planned this with Roman for weeks now. He had practised it in front of the mirror over and over again. And now here he was, at a loss of words.

The beeping of his cell phone brought him back to reality. He pulled it out of his pocket, not surprised to see that it was a text from Roman saying _'Get yourself together and do it already dumbass'_.

"I don't really know how I can express my feelings to you. You know I'm not the kind of guy that talks about his feelings much. It's just not my thing. But you deserve this. You deserve all this sappy, romantic bullshit women are craving for and I'm giving you just that," Dean started nervously, taking both of her hands into his before licking his suddenly very dry lips, sighing heavily. "I have seen and met great beauties in my life and have also learned how I could gaze at them just once and walk away. But with you, everything has changed. I know I've fucked up the first time we met, but that's just how I was back then. I so badly wanted to get rid of you but I simply couldn't. I was thinking about you 24/7 and it quite frankly pissed me off big time. When this asshole Gavin got in my way, I finally realized that I wanted and needed you in my life. I knew you belonged to me, that I had to have you. I can honestly say that you're the first ever woman I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I know things are difficult with me sometimes. We both have a hot temper...we're both stubborn as fuck. But as much as we fight, we always find our way back to each other and that's all that matters. Well, time has passed, and I have discovered new things about a new me. You have truly changed me. Still, I'm fucking scared because I'm growing a deep feeling inside my heart that I just can't explain. I not only just love you, Shannon, I'm in love with you. It took me years to finally tell you that. And until today I have a hard time showing you just how much you mean to me. I'm sorry for being a heartless asshole, I'm sorry for being an ignorant, selfish bastard. But never forget that you're my whole world. When you told me you were pregnant with Dylan, I reacted in the worst way possible. But what did you do? You forgave me. And you've given me the best gift a woman can give to a man. You gave me Dylan. I know we still need to learn to accept our fate of not having any more children, but as I said...if this is what you really want, then we'll find a way. We will always find a way…a solution. We just need to stick together, no matter what. Forever."

That was the very word their friends had been waiting for. Together they reappeared from behind the rock, each adult having one child on their arm while holding lit sparklers.

When Shannon looked back to Dean, she noticed in shock that he kneeled down in front of her on one knee, still holding one of her hands.

"I'm sincerely sorry for being such a cheesy, lame boyfriend right now, but I once again want you to know how much I love you. You're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. You're the love of my life, the mother of my beautiful son and the most amazing woman I've ever met in my life...," he said, almost stuttering, before turning his attention to the four kids that were now standing next to him with their best friends close by – except for Joan and Hayley who still needed to be held by their parents.

Shannon gasped when she noticed that they were all wearing light pink t-shirts with deep purple words printed on them. She read each word separately, over and over again, not believing her eyes. Was she dreaming? Was this really true?

Joan: Will

Hayley: you

Leni: marry

Dylan: me?

She looked back and forth between the kids and Dean, the tears that she had been trying to suppress so hard now finally escaping her eyes, streaming down her face.

She watched as Dean gave their son a nod with his head, silently asking him to come over to them. With a huge smile on his face, the little boy closed the distance to his parents, stuffing his tiny hand into the pockets of his pants before revealing a black velvet box and handing it over to his father with a chuckle.

"Shannon O'Brien, I will ask you this now...and I will only ask you once, so think hard about your answer," he said quietly, his voice almost a whisper. He looked up at her with hopeful eyes, swallowing hard before finally popping the question of all questions. "Will you marry me?"


End file.
